


Last Ace for a Royal Flush

by photonconductor



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, New Game+ AU, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Persona Series References, Retelling, Suicide Attempt, Timeline Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 76,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24375925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/photonconductor/pseuds/photonconductor
Summary: Akira Kurusu failed to save the world.  During the final stages of the game, he lost his way and was seduced by a false god to happiness. Fortunately, due to mysterious circumstances, he is given the chance to reset the game by switching places with another version of himself. However, once he returns to the game, he begins to notice not everything is exactly as it was before.A retelling of Persona 5: The Royal with a twist.
Relationships: Persona 5 Protagonist & Everyone
Comments: 15
Kudos: 70





	1. I. The Fool

**Author's Note:**

> This is a disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Similarities between characters and events to persons living or dead in your world are purely coincidental.
> 
> Some dialogue strings are lifted directly from this world in order to preserve the idea of a New Game+ style. Thus I do not claim Persona 5 or Persona 5: The Royal as my own as it is a property of ATLUS. As with any retelling, there will be new elements alongside of old as well as a few changes that don't make it completely fit "new game+" requirements in game. This is just to keep the game more interesting. You may also notice some things that may come off as more "self indulgent". Take caution and enjoy the game as it unfolds.

Akira Kurusu was a fool.

Not any regular fool, no, he was sure he must have gone down in history as the very pinnacle of foolishness. If the world had known what he'd done, he was sure his picture would be wedged right next to the dictionary definition of the word. How did one get to be just as foolish as he? Well, that was a long story. One involving grandiose heists of thieves stealing hearts and a cat that wasn't a cat.

The one fatal flaw in his plans had been the one thing he hadn't expected. When it came down to it, never had he expected to be dealing with false gods trying to rip everything away. Yet, despite it all, that's exactly what happened; he had become the very catalyst that made it so. The false god had promised him a deal. The deity would turn back the wheels of time and the Phantom Thieves would once again be the heroes of the masses once again. They could go back to their escapades of changing the hearts of those who would try to do wrong. 

The sickly saccharine smile of a god wearing the skin of a human tempted him. It wasn't the possibility of fame of hidden heroes that tempted him. In the back of his mind he could hear the cries of his friends. Their screams before they all had disappeared without a trace from their world. It was his moment of weakness; the one nerve that struck too close. His resolve wavered, all because he desired to see his friends smiling faces. 

He accepted the deal.

Akira Kurusu _is_ a fool. Believing honeyed whispers of a god instead of the woman who guided him through the trials setup by the false one in the first place. He turned his back on his friends and was rewarded with a stab through the heart. The calm blue of the Velvet Room churned into a deep purple. He could hear the audible gasp of Lavenza from the corner of the room. His vision swam and the world came to a familiar crushing darkness. 

The Trickster had been tricked. 

Yet something odd happened. Despite believing he was truly dead, Akira Kurusu's eyes opened. A deep red light illuminated inside the train car he sat in. The car looked like the same old Yongen-Jaya line he always rode to and from school; right down to the seats and the swaying handles. The lonely train car rocked idly, as if it were passing by without a passing thought to the ominous atmosphere outside of it. It was empty and quiet, save for the rattling of the machine itself. He drank in the sight quietly, staring at the blank red sky filtering in through the windows. Noticing his clothes felt a bit lighter, he glanced down to find himself no longer cloaked in the rebel's garb, but the familiar one of a Shujin Academy student uniform. His bag sat on top of his lap, feeling almost too empty without the familiar weight of Morgana perched inside.

This was where he found himself reminiscing about what a fool he was.

Perhaps he really did die. Maybe this train was just the way to the afterlife. After all, he had seen weirder things from his adventures in the Metaverse. He scanned the edges of the car, but none of the monitors were functional beyond the static they were filled with. Seeing a Shibuya train car empty almost made him laugh. When would anyone besides the train conductor see this sight? If Ryuji saw, he would be over the moon about having a train car to himself. Akira frowned to himself. His thoughts drew back to his friends once again.

Morgana, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, Haru… If they were alive what would they think of their stalwart leader? Morgana would scold him for sure. Imagining their faces twisted in pain and fear made him sick. Now, they would never make those faces again; not happiness, not sadness, not even anger. That tiny hope he would be able to save them was crushed. They were thieves, not god slayers. Stupid kids whos just wanted to fight back against the shitty adults who ruined their lives. Fate had its way of twisting itself into a noose around his neck. Maybe he should have taken Chihaya's fortune warning him about future money troubles as a sign of things to come.

The train shook and groaned adding to the eerie atmosphere and his darkening mood. Trying to find some humor in this bleak situation was all he had, he supposed. Akira supposed he could get up and try to see if someone was at the helm. It was better to gain some information than sit here feeling sorry for himself. He moved to stand, but felt a familiar weight tug at his leg. His old friend from the Velvet Room was there to greet him; the ball and chain wrapped around said leg.

He clicked his tongue and sat down. _'Should have figured it would be too easy,'_ he thought. Wherever this train was going, he was sure he wouldn't be getting off it without another hitch. Call it a hunch. 

He dug around in his bag. If he was stuck waiting around, might as well find something to do. Unfortunately the bag was mostly empty beyond one singular item; his probation diary. Akira dug a bit further, but most of it the contents had been emptied out at some point. He could pin it on Morgana and his constant complaints of being sandwiched between textbooks and nail files, but he decided to abandon that thought. He gave a halfhearted shrug and flipped open the diary to the first page. 

April was listed at the top of the page in pencil. Right next to it was his signature written on the leather inner jacket. Sojiro Sakura's own signature was also written above it, probably as proof of his guardianship for the probation officer who would peruse it. For a guy who wanted nothing to do with him at first, it was a pretty well made diary to get as a gift.

Akira focused his attention on the first entry, April 9th. That was the day after he had arrived in Tokyo; when Sojiro had gifted it to him. Looking through his writing it seemed almost foreign. How different things were back then before he had met everyone; before they had become Phantom Thieves. The diary didn't include those parts of their story; that would be too incriminating. There was enough nuance written between the lines that made it easy for Akira to pick out. He thumbed through the entries, remarking the moments when he met his friends past the more mundane entries like when he caught the Ichigaya Guardian or finished a course at the batting cages.

The nostalgia should have warmed his heart, but instead an ugly feeling filled his stomach. It sat there like a boulder; unmoving and unyielding. What was the point of skimming through all these memories? His friends were dead and the world now made to be under the control of a god who didn't believe the masses could think for themselves. The cycle of no good adults would run rampant and peoples suffering would continue in silence. Had really what they had done as Phantom Thieves been right in the first place? His teeth clenched together tightly. Just as another fit of mental lashing was creeping up, Akira realized he wasn't alone.

His eyes turned up from the diary slowly. Just as he expected, there was someone sitting across from him. However, it wasn't someone he would've ever expected to see. It wasn't the familiar yellow eyes of Lavenza or the eyepatched twins. It wasn't even the false god or its Holy Grail, come to mock him one last time before he was sent to purgatory.

It was Joker. No, it was _himself_.

Adorned in the familiar rebel's attire from the Metaverse, he sat there directly across from Akira. His legs were spread with his elbows sitting against his knees and his body hunched forward. His fingers tented themselves against his mouth, his expression completely covered by the red gloves and the picaro mask he wore. His eyes were closed as if he were either thinking or asleep. As soon as Akira looked at him, only then did his eyes open. Calm red eyes met his own confused hazel.

The silence between them was thick. Part of Akira wondered if this was how his friends saw him in the Metaverse all the time. The fact Ann never mentioned his eyes being red was throwing him off a little, to be honest. He figured the first joke among them would've been if the Metaverse installed color contacts in addition to whole new getups… To his relief, Joker (it was just easier to call him that in Akira's opinion) spoke first.

"Shall we make a deal?"

Looks like his hunch was spot on. Akira sat up a little straighter than his usual hunched posture. He didn't speak at first, letting the moments drift by. Joker shifted in his spot, not looking like he was going to speak either. Both found themselves at an odd stalemate; neither encroaching beyond the threshold.

"What kind of deal could you possibly offer me?" Akira finally found his voice. Joker moved his head from his hands and a smirk crossed his lips.

"I found a way to restart the game." 

The PA system suddenly kicked to life and chirped. 

_Ding-ding-ding-pong_ … 

Despite the familiarity of it, the sound echoed eerily in his ears. If Joker heard it, he didn't react to it. Akira swallowed, but it felt too loud.

"Restart?" He murmured to himself. Well himself _himself_. Not the other him.

"Don't you want to go back? Isn't that why you took his deal?" Joker asked. His red eyes seemed to bore into him for a proper answer. Akira hesitated. 

Yes, that had been the reason… but at the same time he knew another truth. He was afraid. This time everything had finally become all too real. His time in the underground interrogation room had taught him some of that. Human beings and supernatural powers in the Metaverse were easy to brush away, even if their lives were threatened taking on Shadows. But gods? They weren't on par with those things. Maybe he was being a coward, but how much could he really do?

"The Phantom Thieves don't kill… I'm not a god slayer," Akira decided for the blunt answer. After all, he was practically talking to himself.

"I wanted my friends back. I wanted to go back before all of this became something bigger than we are. We got too deep in over our heads about this." Akira's eyes dropped to the ground. It was pathetic to admit, in the end, he was still just a highschool kid. No matter what, he still had his limitations. A fancy number of Personas could only push him so far.

Joker was silent, as if he were absorbing Akira's words. The clacking of the train continued marching on undeterred. Then, he moved, straightening up and folding his arms across his chest.

"So you would give up everything the Phantom Thieves sought for because of that?" Joker replied, slowly drawing out his words, "That's just an excuse. You know what your justice is; you lack the fortitude to see it through because your bonds are weak." 

His words cut like a knife to skin. Akira visibly winced before he glared at him.

"What was I supposed to do!?" He found himself asking, "We can't take on gods! Is what we were doing really right? My team didn't deserve to disappear!"

"Is that really what you believe?" Joker cut in and Akira swallowed the words he wanted to say, "You had believed at first nothing could change your fate before. Unlawfully stuck in a situation not of your own making because of a shitty man who only cared for himself and stepped on the corpses of others to get where he wanted.

"No, I believe that _you_ don't believe this entirely. I _am_ you. I know you want to win this unfair game. You may not be a god slayer, but your power to change your fate is stronger than you believe." Joker's smirk widened at that. Even though his composure stayed even, Akira's curiosity was piqued. What was he even talking about? The Wildcard's power was strong, sure, but… 

The PA system chimed again.

_Ding-ding-ding-pong…_

Akira chewed his lip. It was odd to hear himself talking this much now that it dawned on him. So much for the strong and silent type. Still, if this wasn't some sort of trick by the false god, then maybe what the other him was saying was right; it would be possible to win this unfair game by unconventional means. It had worked on Akechi once before… and _that_ was relying on _luck_.

"...What's the deal?" Akira thought Joker's face would split in two with the smile he wore. Seeing that face made him uneasy. He almost regretted asking… _almost_.

"As I said, I found a way to reset the game. Originally, the false god would have just erased you. Everyone would have succumbed to their own despair and the world would be under his control," Joker glanced to the side, "If you truly want to go back and prevent this future, then all you need to do is replace me." 

Akira blinked.

" _Replace you?_ " Akira repeated, "What do you mean?" It was Joker's turn to look uneasy. He seemed to be mulling over something, but what Akira couldn't say. Fortunately, he seemed to be in a talking mood.

"Let's say it's not a coincidence you and I ended up in this place." Joker seemed to be unsure of how to explain it himself, "When I said I was you, that wasn't completely true. I'm a version of you, you could say." 

"Makes about as much sense as anything else here," Akira shrugged. Gods, other planes of existence, really how did you get anywhere dwelling on it too long? It practically was Ryuji's motto anyway; he'd just adopt it here.

"Just like how cognition can view people in many different ways, I guess that's how I'd explain myself." Joker continued without missing a beat, "But just like you I messed up. I made a deadly mistake and ended up here. Where _here_ is, though, I couldn't say." Now, that had Akira's eyebrows raising in surprise.

"What happened?" He dared to ask. Joker's face darkened. Well, as much as Akira could tell from his mask getting in the way.

"I sold them out. Niijima-san took the information and ran without taking the phone." Akira felt his heart drop into his stomach. Yeesh, there really was a version of him that would sell everyone who had helped him out? Akira was right about being a fool. That only nailed it harder to the board. Still, that meant that Akechi had… 

Joker didn't let the thought linger too long in Akira's mind.

"The only reason I know about you is this place is a bit funny. Occasionally the monitors light up and show off potential… _futures_. Yours was the latest," Joker turned his eyes towards the dead monitors filled with static. Akira followed his gaze, but it was short lived.

"That doesn't explain how you can reset the game, though," He said, gaze trained back on him, "Or why you know so much about this place."

"I figured out this place is kind of like the Velvet Room. It doesn't really exist anywhere… it's like a space in between worlds. I met the conductor once by chance." 

So someone _was_ operating the train. That answered that question at the very least. Akira tented his own fingers, looking intrigued, and hunched forward.

"You couldn't get his help?" He found himself asking such a dumb question. Joker shook his head.

"That guy is trapped here, too, thanks to that stupid god. He told me all he can do is _'guide those back on the right path, but I cannot interfere with the lives in the outer worlds'_ or whatever the hell that means," Joker's frown deepened, "Basic answer: no."

Akira grimaced. Normally he would ask if it was the Velvet Room's job to handle this sort of thing, but with Caroline and Justine torn off their own original path of guiding them, their chances seemed slim. Joker continued.

"The conductor told me once you get off at your platform the timeline of the world resets back to when the false god rigged the game; April 9th. Same goes for me, too. If I get off on my platform my timeline resets. The catch is along with the timeline our memories also get reset, so despite ending up here we can't do a damn thing about it."

Of course it had to be where it all started. Akira almost rolled his eyes at how perfect the puzzle pieces fit. Not to mention being tossed back into a timeline destined to repeat the same mistakes of the previous one.

"Figures," He mumbled.

"The plan is pretty simple. If the wrong version gets off at the wrong station, then they should keep their memories intact…" Joker paused before making a very Morgana-like statement quietly, "...maybe."

Akira frowned at the uncertainty of it all. If he was right, that meant Akira could move into a timeline where they defeated the false god. But what about the version of himself here? Even if they weren't the same, didn't he want to go back too? Akira kept that thought to himself for now.

"So if I get off at where you're supposed to go, there's a chance we can succeed." Akira reconfirmed.

"Exactly. It's a bit of cheating I suppose, but that guy already rigged the game in the first place. It just levels the playing field a bit." Joker hummed. Akira mulled it over a bit.

"What guarantees my memories won't be reset along with the timeline?"

"There's no guarantee, just a hunch," Joker admitted, "Because you're not going where you're intended to be, your memories would be intact despite the reset. That's the idea anyway." The deal seemed risky, but tempting all the same. The prospect of going back and remembering everything would break their collective cycles. It seemed despite being different versions of each other, their ending fates would align.

"What about you then? Don't you want to go back?" Akira finally asked. Even if he would forget everything, there was some relief in knowing things would be reset to zero again. However, the downside of knowing you would never remember the endless loops it took to get here and how many times you made the same wrong mistake wedged itself like sharp glass in his heart. He couldn't exactly sit with that kind of knowledge and feel good about it.

Joker went silent and the train groaned. The handles above them clapped together to add some noise between the silence. He shuffled in his seat for a moment, as if he were thinking of the right thing to say, before slipping his hands into his pockets.

"I lost the right to go back there. I sold them out… Even if it was unintentional, thanks to those drugs, I let them down and put everyone in danger. I was no better than that asshole, Akechi," Joker closed his eyes, "But if there's a chance to save everyone with you… so I don't have much choice in trusting another me for now."

The atmosphere grew somber. Despite himself, Akira had to admit that Joker was right. If Akira had been in the same situation it would be hard to forgive himself. In fact, it was hard to do even now. He didn't really believe it made him all that much better. Joker had only lacked mental fortitude in this case. Akira had lacked resolve.

Akira glanced back down in thought, staring at a piece of gum stuck to the floor. Was that just other dimensional gum or something…? Either way, this version of him definitely would be stuck here forever if he took the proposal.

"You know the right answer here." Joker's voice made him look up. He looked nonchalant, but Akira knew. He was just as scared as he was, but both of them had their reasons. Dying at Akechi's hand put a sour taste in his own mouth to boot, so he was going to attribute it to that.

"In order for this to work someone has to stay. That's just how it goes. Besides, that conductor guy told me something interesting," Joker said flatly.

"Oh?"

"Part of the reason this place exists is because there's some sort of schism in our realities… Something happened that made our reality split in two. It's why we were able to meet like this. I take it as an opportunity; to right our wrongs. "

Akira's eyebrows furrowed. From the sound of it, it didn't seem like the schism itself had anything to do with the false god's business. Joker would have mentioned it if that were the case. So, that meant he was just taking advantage of the whole situation to keep them locked into the same cycle. Something close to caged rats. Just thinking that he could hear Yusuke's bad mouse puns all over again… 

There wasn't much use dwelling about it now… It wasn't like he could figure it out now.

"So if I take your deal, what do you get out of it?" Akira looked at him with hardened eyes. Salvation of their friends alone didn't seem to fit this version of him. Beyond the whole guilt angle, the deal seemed too skewed in his favor than Joker's. 

Joker's signature smirk crept its way back on his face. It looked like he expected that question.

"Don't trust me after making a deal with the devil?"

"To be honest, you already had me convinced," Akira admitted, "Getting off is a much better idea than hanging around a creepy train car," Joker nearly fell off his seat. 

"God, I guess I'm an easier target than I thought," Joker muttered under his breath, something his duplicate didn't catch. He cleared his throat before digging further into his pocket. He pulled out something Akira recognized; the probation diary.

"It looks suspicious from any angle, but if I'm stuck here at least I'll get to see that smug look wiped off god's grin," Joker's tone was light despite the heavy atmosphere, "This is one of those deals of blind faith. We're both going back to our worlds sooner or later. There's no way someone as arrogant as that god would leave loose ends here," 

Almost too conveniently, the PA system rang a third time. However, this one was different than the previous chimes.

_"Ding-ding-ding-pong… We are now approaching Royale Shibuya… Royale Shibuya…"_

The windows flashed. All of a sudden, the blank red backdrop outside was painted with thick, black numbers in various sizes. They all started at the famed number 00. Then as soon as he breathed, they began changing rapidly; so fast Akira's eyes couldn't catch if they were counting down or up. Joker's face remained neutral, but he moved his hand to hold the diary out towards Akira.

"Once you make this deal, I don't know if you'll be able to come back here. There's a lot of unknowns, so this is a leap of faith. Trust in the Phantom Thieves… in the bonds we made." Joker's tone sounded almost like Arsène's for a moment. In that moment, Akira almost wondered if that whole thing had just been another of his persona's disguises.

The PA system roared to life again, but this time said something odd in a male voice.

_"Once you take this you will be responsible for all actions here on and henceforth… Do you accept these terms?"_

He stared at the book and swallowed. This was his chance. A chance to make everything right again and save his friends for real. Akira Kurusu may be a fool, but he was damned sure he wouldn't be a fool anymore.

He grabbed the diary. The contract was sealed. 

The train car groaned as if it were pleased by the outcome. Joker's smile cracked his face and Akira returned it. It dawned on him only now just how odd it was to be smiling at his own face. As if that moment had triggered it, Akira swore he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His head turned and he saw it; a glowing butterfly.

Beyond the fluttering, sparkling wings of the creature was a girl. She stood at the far end of the car, holding the handrail with a somber look. Her bright red hair, pulled into a tight ponytail, melded almost too well with the scenery of the empty train car. He wanted to call out to her for a moment. Suddenly, the weight that had been on the other end of the diary was gone. He quickly jerked his head back towards where his duplicate had been.

However, Joker was gone. Akira turned sharply and, sure enough, the girl was gone too. 

_'Damn it…! What just happened?!'_ Akira thought quickly. He jumped to his feet, though the ball and chain around his leg wouldn't let him get far.

 _"Royale Shibuya… This is Royale Shibuya…"_ The PA system's monotone mocked him. Just as he frantically spun for answers, the world seemed to meld together in response. Akira struggled for some sort of consciousness, but it was a losing battle. The butterfly swirled it's way around his head as if it were telling him something. His mind seemed to refuse to register it.

Man, he really was getting tired of the Velvet Room pulling it, but now here…? Those were his last thoughts before the reddened train car grew black.

***

_"Attention all passengers… We will soon be arriving in Shibuya… When exiting the train car, please make sure you have gathered all your belongings and that you stand clear of the moving doors. Again, attention all passengers. We will soon be arriving in Shibuya…"_

As if he had been submerged in water, he broke the proverbial surface with a gasp and his eyes flared open. The world came into a brilliant and almost blinding view. The train car that was once a somber solace was brimming with all walks of life. Teenagers gossiping about the next viral hit, stiff businessmen in stiffer suits on their way to their jobs, the hum of the monitors that lined the outer edges of the top of the car buzzing with the latest news, and one boy thrust back into reality a bit abruptly. 

The noise almost sounded _too_ loud, with the rumbling of the train car to go with it. It was such a sharp contrast to the eerie atmosphere he had been in before he felt whiplash kicking in. Familiarity swiftly brought him back into reality.

Akira let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding, finally taking a moment to breathe back in. A dream? No, he'd been through enough "dreams" to know it wasn't a regular dream at all. The female voice of the PA system let him know _where_ he was going to, so that helped his mind adjust. He slumped his back against the cool metal of the wall. He was thankful he had gotten a seat in the first place within the crowded train. 

All of that seemed too bizarre to be real… but bizarre was just another mark in his calendar for him. There were some ways to reconfirm what that other him had said, too. He might as well take the time to test it.

Akira dug into his pocket. He was relieved to find his smartphone was intact and on his person this time. He hit the side button placed on it to turn on the screen. The screen lit up with little fanfare and there it was, the fated date in bold white text: April 9th.

Next was something more physical. He used his free hand and quickly pinched his cheek. The pain was sharp, but his eyes were still open. The scenery didn't change. ' _So far so good_ ,' he found himself thinking.

His eyes turned back to his phone, unlocking it as he had done thousands of times before. Once his apps popped up, he tapped the one labeled "Chat". His roster of messages were mainly empty, beyond ones sent to his parents before his departure to Tokyo. Most people would've been shocked by the lack of friends listed among those messages. He particularly wasn't. It wasn't really a surprise to him that none of his friends from his hometown wanted to talk to a juvenile delinquent. He swiped and opened his contacts, but it was more or less the same story; only his parents and a few emergency contact numbers.

Akira went back to the home screen and noticed the MetaNav wasn't available. "Igor" had given it to him before, but he wondered if he had just taken it back if he knew about the timeline jump. For now, that conclusion didn't seem likely. The PA system's chime briefly dragged his eyes away from his phone.

"Attention all passengers… We are now arriving in Shibuya. Please be careful when exiting the doors and make sure to gather all your belongings…"

The train car burst with more activity as people began gathering their items and shuffling towards the double doors. Akira was tossed around briefly by patrons hurrying to get off first and make their next transfer. Well, if this was a reset of that day's events, then he needed to get to Yongen-Jaya.

The train's force halted and the passengers swayed inside it. Slowly, but surely, the train came to a stop and the floodgates released. Akira pushed himself along the stream of people like a synchronized swimmer. A year's worth of practice helped with navigating crowds like this. Eventually the flow of people pooled and thinned out onto the station's platform. Akira glanced around once he was off to the side and free of the chaos.

His eyes wandered the walls and billboards from there. Familiar adverts clung to the walls of the station, all labeled with dates of happenings in April. He recognized a few ads for Risette's new album that had been released back then, mostly since he recognized the poster Ann had given him of her. He wouldn't exactly call himself a fan of J-Pop, but Risette did have a smile that sucked you in.

Ignoring the rest of them, he took the stairs up and out to the station square. The bright cloudless sky seemed in contrast to the dark feeling in his gut. More and more of this seemed to be real; he really was starting to believe he _had_ reset the timeline. A little amount of skepticism was healthy if you asked him. There were no guarantees about anything right now. 

Still, he almost couldn't believe how right the other him had been. Staring at the bustling Scramble Crossing reminded him; wasn't this where the MetaNav first appeared? He glanced at his phone. He hadn't been using it since the train; he already knew the way to Leblanc by heart.

As soon as he opened his phone the regular navigation app opened. He recognized Yongen-Jaya's location punched into it beforehand. He remembered setting in just as he left home. Just as he moved his eyes away from the text box, there it was. The brilliant crimson and black eye peering out at him from the bottom of the screen. He scowled back at it, as if it actually were that false god peering back at him.

That bastard… It soon was made well aware to him he didn't exactly have a plan on confronting the thing. Before he could dwell on it, the noise of the world slowed. Time wound to an agonizingly slow crawl, before everyone had stopped entirely. There was no sound from a soul, barred his own heart beating in his ears. His eyes turned to the center point of the street. There it was: mysterious, flickering, blue flames. He found himself once again ensnared by its sight, like any hot-blooded youth was to their favorite idol.

The flames roared higher and crackled with familiarity. He knew the sensation in his chest. A warm familiarity, yet it also was an aura of a foreign being. Akira swallowed. Just as soon as he took a breath did the spell break. The Scramble crossing burst to life and the noise rushed back into his ears. He blinked a few times to regain his senses.

Too much freaky shit in one day… could he call it a day? _Whatever…_ Akira was already tired. Adjusting his bag, Akira headed into the depths of Shibuya towards the station once again.

Once he boarded his train, did he let out a sigh of relief. The train ride to Yongen-Jaya gave him time to think. He knew once he opened the door of Leblanc, Sojiro wouldn't recognize him. If fate continued along its path like last time, then it wouldn't be hard to predict some things. Unfortunately, the human memory was tricky. Despite the smarts he had gained from studying, he could only remember so much. The end days of the Phantom Thieves were fresh, however.

He decided the best course of action would be to find Morgana. He knew he was probably in Kamoshida's Palace right about now. He had the MetaNav, he could head straight to Shujin… however if his power had been reset he would just be deadweight to him. Ryuji was the one who had helped trigger his Persona's awakening. If he went now, that might skew the timeline too much and alert the false god early that something was amiss.

He knew he was keeping a finger in each pie. Metaphorically, and probably literally if he was a god. In the end, by that logic, the god would overhear everything spoken. Still, Akira decided he still needed Morgana's help; even if it would trigger something. Morgana was practically his family. He was someone who always stuck around until the end, even though most of that reason was because he was a cat the whole time. Still! As long as the timeline didn't go astray too much they might have a chance. Morgana had the most insight he could hope for.

That left one other problem. Futaba had Leblanc wiretapped. They definitely would have to speak in private for that business while she still didn't know about the Phantom Thieves. His heart hurt at the thought of it. Futaba would be suffering once he arrived. The thoughts of her late Mother would be plaguing her again and he'd have to bide his time until he could save her. He swore to himself once they met, he'd definitely save up to buy her all the instant ramen she wanted.

Therein lay another problem ( _wow_ these were adding up); what would he tell everyone? To be honest, he doubted they would believe him. For now, for their safety, it was best to keep it under wraps. If the time came, then he'd no doubt have to spill the beans anyway. Speaking of said beans, he hadn't realized he had ended up right at the door of Leblanc. By "knew the way to Leblanc by heart", he really wasn't kidding.

Akira reached out to the handle and steeled himself. He knew as soon as he opened the door things would begin, just as they already had. The gears of fate whirled in his head and he soldiered on. The familiar bell of Leblanc's door rang in his ears as he pushed inside. Brewing coffee mixed with the spicy aroma of curry simmering away alongside an oddly musty scent assuaged his senses. It was a warm, familiar blanket after a long, cold, and rainy day. 

The old TV chattered away about a bus incident earlier that week. The patrons inside were enjoying Sojiro's famous house blend (Akira could tell just by the smell) and the Boss himself had parked himself comfortably in the booth chair. The patrons began mumbling among themselves about the terrifying situation, but Akira's gaze was fixed.

He stared at the man, Sojiro Sakura himself, who had already started mumbling to himself about the crossword in his hand. It felt like an age since Akira had seen him last, and despite Akira's calm and collected outside demeanor his heart sang to see him again. Sojiro's brow was crinkled into a familiar scowl, no doubt adding to his already wrinkled face. It was easy to see just how downtrodden he looked, though Akira hadn't noticed it before when they first met.

Getting to know Boss and Futaba had changed all that. He knew that frustrated look all too well, especially the way his glasses sank down his nose. Just as he thought that, Sojiro's grey eyes looked up. There was a hair of surprise on his face. It was one that gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, Sojiro recognized him and would ask him, _"Where the hell you been, kid? You look like a drowned rat,"_ all the while treating him to a nice plate of curry with a Sojiro-style smile.

"...Oh, right," Sojiro said, slapping his paper onto the counter and getting up from his chair, "They did say that was today."

When Boss looked at him, all those warm thoughts shattered like thin glass. His expression held no aged warmth of a teacher proud of his pupil. All he saw was a slight agitation in his eyes, and Akira's own frizzy head reflected back in his glasses. As if on cue the old couple, he now realized it was them, stood up from their own seats.

"We'll be going now. The payment's on the table." The old man said.

"Thanks for coming." Sojiro nodded to them without barely moving his head. The old man wouldn't let Sojiro off without a comment, however.

"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing through here." Both Akira and Sojiro gave the man a look with shared raised eyebrows. Akira kept silent despite his surprise, but soon realized he was talking about the incident on the news.

"A what now?" Sojiro exclaimed, not being so lucky to understand what he was getting at. Akira bit back a snicker but the old man didn't seem deterred.

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope nothing like that happens around here." His worried tone was swiftly met with Sojiro's usual aloof attitude.

"None of my concern," he grumbled. The old man laughed his cold words off with a faint smile.

"Haha, well see ya next time." With that, the couple left with only the jingle of the bell on the door to bid them goodbye. Soon enough, only he and Sojiro were left in the café. Once they were surely gone, Sojiro let out a loud groan.

"...Four hours for just a single cup of joe." Sojiro bemoaned, but his eyes were soon back on Akira, "So, you're Ren?"

Akira was about to answer, but paused. Ren? No, that wasn't his name… but he couldn't just _say_ that. It soon dawned on him that it was in fact Joker's name; the other him he met in the red train car. So he _had_ taken Ren's place. He didn't expect his name to differ in this world too… Probably should've asked the guy or took a peak in that diary of his. Jumping the gun wasn't exactly unheard of by his standards...

"Well, I'll take your silence as a yes. Yeesh, why'd I put myself up to this…" Sojiro hissed that last part mostly to himself. Sojiro's impatience wasn't exactly unknown to Akira, but he hadn't realized he had been so lost in thought. Without a moment more of hesitation, Sojiro started right back up.

"I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year." His signature smirk crossed his face, his eyes sizing Akira, "I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?

"Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and— well, not that _that_ matters… Follow me." Sojiro didn't even wait to see if he was following. He moved towards the stairs in the back of the café, past the restroom. Akira blinked once, but adjusted the bag on his shoulder and followed after him.

The attic he once joked about as a prison awaited him. The once all too familiar sight of his room was one that beckoned him. However, once his head peaked past the headboard were those warm thoughts turned into a blazing fire. 

"This is your room," Sojiro said, matter of factly, "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."

The messy room was caked in dust and smelled of it too. Despite the aged scent of the building itself intertwined with the faint smell of coffee beans and curry cooking below, it definitely was what Akira called home. It lacked the care and love he had put into cleaning it, but the sight made his heart sing.

However, there was a cold edge that gripped at him, that this wasn't really the room he knew. It was the other Joker's room; the real Ren's. He felt as if he were taking it, just another stolen treasure to his repertoire. Sojiro seemed to notice his pause, but he misunderstood it's meaning.

"Hm? You look like you wanna say something?" Sojiro's stare did urge words in his throat.

"It's… big," Best go with the most neutral option for now. Sojiro continued his one-sided staring contest with an equally neutral look.

"It's on you to clean up the rest," he grunted, "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble." The emphasis on stupid was nailed to the door. Akira wouldn't really believe Sojiro would throw him out, but he remembered that was the Sojiro he knew in the future. 

The Sojiro of the past would spit on his shoes on the way out. Despite his rough exterior, he knew Sojiro was a kind man in the end… but right now, he still had his proverbial security level at 100%. Akira only nodded in response.

"Now then…" Sojiro seemed pleased, but kept on, "I got the gist of your situation." Akira's head perked up, curious if anything would change between himself and Ren's stories. Of course Sojiro's account would be merely what his parents told him. To his disappointment, however, it was word for word the situation itself accompanied by a spurt of Sojiro-style flavored tough love (if you could call it that in this case).

"I am in the restaurant business you know, so you better not say anything unnecessary. Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation is lifted." Sojiro's steely gaze never wavered as he finished, "Your sentence lasts until next spring, right? That's why you're gonna be here for the coming year." 

The memories of those early spring days were coming back to him. The whole probation had felt like a distant memory after everything. No longer was it a memory now. Akira couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. _"Behave",_ oh, if only it had been that easy. Sojiro seemed to ignore his smirk in favor of reprimanding him.

"Cause any trouble and you'll be sent straight to juvie." With that point across, he sighed, "We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow. We'll introduce ourselves to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of my Sunday..." 

Akira straightened at that. Shujin Academy… the place where it truly all began. Kamoshida would be awaiting the Phantom Thieves grand rebirth there; or rather his own. Morgana would have to be there, but that meant putting Ryuji in danger again too. Last time they only had been saved thanks to his awakening and running into Morgana. A thought crossed his mind; what if it didn't work because he knew too much? That split second of worry crossed his features. Sojiro continued on to the beat of his own drum.

"Your "luggage" arrived a little while ago. I brought it up for you," A rare moment of Sojiro's kindness glimmered through with those words. With that, he moved past Akira without another word and descended the stairs back to Leblanc proper. ' _No doubt he has to check on his roast_ ,' Akira commented silently to himself. With a sigh, his eyes turned back towards his "luggage".

A large cardboard box sat inconspicuously in the middle of the room. It was the only thing not covered in an inch thick layer of dust. He crouched down beside it before he peeled back the flaps of the box. Inside was the items he remembered pulling from home. Clothes, toiletries, all those basic living amenities one couldn't do without. Interestingly, though, there were a few items he didn't recognize as items he brought here _with_ him.

Digging through the box revealed many of the items he had gained over his time of being a Phantom Thief. Their equipment, Yusuke's and the Shadow's skill cards, even an exact replica of his wallet stuffed to the brim with yen, all fit neatly inside the box. Any way you looked at it, it was downright strange.

Akira glared at it suspiciously. How in the hell did all this stuff fit inside and Sojiro not once complain about the weight…? He looked behind him as if he expected Sojiro to come stomping back upstairs to complain, but he only heard the clatter of dishes and the muffled voice of the television. Akira's head turned back to the box and he pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. He knew for sure this was his gear, not Ren's. It's possible they could have similar items, but he doubted it.

Well, this day was already batshit crazy so why not add onto it? He grabbed the edges of the box and lifted. To his surprise, it definitely didn't feel like it was bogged down with extra items. Sojiro would have one hell of a surprise if he poked around and saw Ryuji's collection of blunt instruments and Ann's assortment of whips. Somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped he didn't find it and question it as some weird BDSM kink.

He squeezed it into an empty space on the metal shelf near the entrance of the stairs. He stood up and clapped his hands to clear off any residue left by the shelving unit. Well, there wasn't much left to do, but clean this place up. All he needed was a quick change of clothes and he could get started.

The rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning most of the nooks and crannies of the attic. Unfortunately there was too much clutter for one day, but he managed to clear out the cobwebs and layers of dust. Sojiro had come up to check on him once, only to give one of his Sojiro-style compliments and say he was leaving for the night. Akira decided to take up his offer of heading to bed early. With everything that had happened, a good night's rest would help him think things through clearer.

Not to mention as soon as he changed into his pajamas did the fatigue hit him like an oncoming truck. He flopped back first onto his bed, staring at the wood paneling above him. A reset game… it practically felt like he had merely fallen into some other reality at this point. Everything was so similar, yet so foreign at the same time. 

Part of him wondered if he could really change this rigged game. He was still afraid, if he was being honest with himself. He also knew it was his own selfish wish to be alongside his friends and keep his memories of them. In this place, however, he had no friends to turn to right now. The closest, metaphorically, was Futaba, but going around shouting no doubt odd things in Leblanc wouldn't help anyone. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. The eye of the MetaNav app bore into him. He stared back, as if he were searching for some clear answer, but he found none. Instead, he felt his eyelids droop and grow heavy. He really must have been tired.

His hand holding his phone fell and let out a dull thud against the mattress. His head sunk into the pillow. Before long, Akira found himself losing his consciousness to the blackness of sleep.

***

The train groaned out another hollow wail. The pale red light of the outside painted the walls of the train, now absent of the numbers scrawled in the sky. Ren stared up at the static covered monitors with intense focus. As he did so, the train car's front door slid open. 

A tall, thin man stepped through, dressed in a brilliant white suit that contrasted Ren's own black outfit. Where he did match Ren was that he was wearing a mask of his own. However this one was unique. It was white with a golden butterfly wing adorned on the left eye socket with only a small portion of his mouth on the right side exposed underneath. Once he crossed the threshold, the pale red walls were dyed in a brilliant deep blue. Ren didn't move his eyes off the screen.

The man walked methodically towards him. The static crackled and a familiar view popped onto the screen. The Velvet Room in all its prison room glory. The other "him", Joker 2 he decided to call him, was there. Granted Joker 2 wasn't very original, but Ren didn't bother with the details on how lame it sounded. Who was gonna judge him anyway? 

Ren's eyes narrowed, watching him on the monitor carefully. He hadn't bothered to acknowledge the man had closed in on him. He was kind enough not to obstruct his view at least. When Ren finally tore his eyes away, he noticed the man was staring up at the screens too.

"Didn't think you had time to spare to watch," Ren remarked. The words didn't catch the man's attention. Ren merely looked back at the monitor. It displayed a discussion he remembered. It was the first time he had entered the Velvet Room. 

There, sitting smugly with that long nose and creepy grin, was Igor. Or rather, a fake Igor. Even now Ren could hardly believe they had been tricked so easily. All those gifts of personas he must've stolen from the original Igor's power, especially if he ripped Justine and Caroline in two. Of course, he never experienced this first hand, just through these television screens. Ren's hand unconsciously balled into a fist.

"I now see your plan…" It was the man who spoke this time. It was enough to have Ren's eyes on him. The man didn't move his own eyes away from the screen as the scene unfolded between them.

"We're both determined to see this game through," Ren laced his fingers together, "Not to mention help you out." That earned a turn in his direction from the man.

"Me?" He asked.

"You said you were trapped here. You're just like Igor, right?" Ren stared at him, sizing him up in that moment. There was a flash of surprise behind the man's eyes at that. The two stared for a few moments before the tall man turned.

"In a sense, yes." He sounded hesitant, despite his demeanor, "Do as you like. As I said before, I am—"

"—Not to interfere with the outside lives, right, right." It was then that Ren stood up. As if on cue, there was a click. The ball and chain around his own leg snapped off. Ren stepped forward and the man met him with muted surprise. Ren adjusted his red gloves quietly before he turned towards the door the man had exited from.

"What do you intend to do?" The man couldn't contain his curiosity here, "You are merely human, even in this realm."

"That may be true, but no way I'm gonna rot here. Might as well go out in style," Ren gave a tiny shrug, "Besides, I don't intend to lose. Just gain some intel for now while he's distracted." The man stared at him for a while. The monitor screen had quieted down now, leaving the two of them back to the rumble of the train. Then, he laughed. It threw Ren off kilter.

"Humans still surpass my expectations," A smile cracked his lips, "Very well. I shall further assist in your journey, Trickster." Ren's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You know a lot more than you let on," Ren smirked, "Alright, then what do you say we make a deal?" He stuck out his hand towards the man. His gaze trailed down to the outstretched hand before he chuckled again.

"Once you accept this you will be responsible for all actions here on and henceforth… Do you accept these terms?"

Ren's smile widened.

"Of course."

"Then we have a deal," The man clasped his hand in Ren's tightly. The train car rattled and groaned once more. Both glanced up as if they were hearing something else. The rattling soon ceased, but the train kept trudging on. Or it seemed to, at the very least. A blank red backdrop didn't exactly give one the best idea if they were actually going somewhere. The man stepped to the side, adjusting the cuffs on his suit's sleeve.

"I needn't warn you of the danger, but I believe as soon as we resist the shadows will arrive." He said calmly.

"So there's even shadows here…" Ren clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Your Persona abilities should still work in this space so we won't have to worry about that. Unfortunately your wild card abilities will be suppressed." The man began to move towards the door. Ren stared at him like a deer in headlights. Well, apparently he knew Igor so he shouldn't be that surprised he knew about the Persona stuff. Ren trailed after him like a lost puppy.

"Just who are you?" Ren decided to ask, knowing he probably wouldn't get a proper answer. The man stopped in front of the door with his back turned towards him. He paused, as if he were thinking. It felt like an age before he spoke.

"You use codenames, correct? Then for now, you may address me as _Papillon_."

Of course, he was getting no proper answer.

***

Akira felt like he had been stuffed into the back of a truck stuck on a winding path with its breaks gutted. The sunlight greeting him was only met with cold indignation as he slapped his arm across his eyes. It wouldn't block out the sun completely, but it'd do for now. 

That whole Velvet Room lecture had put him too much on edge. That fake god staring him down had waned on his nerves, but he had pushed through. The less time he could spend in there the better.

Finally feeling himself wake up, he yawned and sat up. He stretched out his arms over his head, feeling his shoulders pop. His head turned to the window, staring out at the cloudy sky above. People mulled in the streets below, just starting their day. He grabbed his abandoned phone at the side of the bed and checked the time. The bold white letters read out 7:00am. Man, he'd better get ready before Sojiro gave him a new one. He shuffled out of bed and into his Shujin Academy uniform with little effort.

Giving himself a quick sniff, he grimaced. It didn't smell bad, but… he'd probably have to wash this thing tonight. He wore it all that time on that bizarro train world. There's no way the thing didn't reek of like… other worldly sweat or something. Just as he finished up, Sojiro waltzed into his room wearing what he no doubt called his "Sunday's best". Sojiro's hat slumped down close to his face, but he didn't seem deterred. He gave a small sniff with a brief rundown of the situation before finishing with a, "Let's go."

The trip to the school was just as uneventful as he remembered. The same feeling of when he met Sojiro was accompanied when he came face to face with Kawakami. It was hard not to say anything, nor was it to swallow the dirty and stern looks from all parties. It hurt more coming from Kawakami and Sojiro, however. The whole thing wasn't completely useless though. His student ID revealed "his" full name; Ren Amamiya. That cleared that up at the very least. Hell, even the picture was the same. He needed a new wardrobe.

The car ride home was one he remembered as well, despite how much Sojiro grumbled there was a man in his passenger seat. The traffic jam had kept them stuck for hours on end, but he soon realized why. It was the first string of mental shutdown cases. At least of those getting media attention. He found himself scowling at the thought. No doubt Akechi's own handiwork at play once again. 

The bus incident he had heard about yesterday had to be included in that long list of cases. It frustrated him that he still _knew_ the cause and he was powerless to stop Akechi at this point. All this knowledge and for what? He couldn't do a damn thing.

The pair finally returned to Leblanc, both defeated in his own way. Sojiro grumbled about losing time to open the café while Akira's thoughts were still on Akechi's schemes.

"...Whatever," Sojiro's sigh broke him out of his thoughts, "Just head upstairs. There's something I need to give you." 

Akira merely nodded and headed upstairs as he was told. He set his bag down near them as Sojiro followed up the rear. Once he was upstairs, then did he turn towards Akira.

"Talk about a gruesome accident… Eighty people were involved," Sojiro was staring at his smartphone, no doubt looking at the news from earlier today. It was impossible for Akira to keep the scowl off his face. Damn that Akechi… Before he could dwell on it further, Sojiro pulled something out of his back pocket.

"Here's a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date." He wagged it once before tossing it haphazardly onto the small table beside the stairs. Akira's eyes followed it, noting it was the same one he had been given. The older man turned towards him, hand on his hip.

"You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is," Sojiro gave a pointed look before closing his eyes, "However I'm obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities."

Just as he finished, his phone suddenly began chirping. Sojiro turned his back towards him, clicking his phone before holding it to his ear.

"Hey, what's up?" The cold hard exterior of Sojiro melted away with just that sentence. Before Akira had no idea who was contacting him, but now he knew; it was no doubt Futaba.

"...I'm about to leave right now… Don't worry, I'll be there in no time… Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." With another click their conversation ended. Akira couldn't make out her voice on the other end, but if he had to guess Futaba had seen the subway accident and was worried about Sojiro's absence from Leblanc. Sojiro turned his head back towards him with his usual frown.

"Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want the rest of the night," His usual cold attitude returned in a flash, "Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow… you'd better head off to bed." With that last bit of advice he disappeared down the stairs, leaving Akira to his whims. He heard the door clang softly downstairs.

His gaze trailed to the leather bound diary. Just as he went to pick it up, he remembered something. Didn't Sojiro call him on the payphone about the door sign? He only remembered it since getting a call was so odd. The phone never really rang all that often while he was working at Leblanc or even hanging out there. Leaving the diary, he followed Sojiro's steps towards the main part of Leblanc. The curry smell was gone along with the roasted beans only leaving the faintest hints of a scent they had been here to begin with. 

He moved towards the door and, sure enough, the sign was still set to "Open". He unlocked the door and quickly flipped it to its other side. Just as he closed the door did the payphone go off. He flicked the latch on the door lock closed before picking up the receiver.

"Hey, it's me." Sojiro's voice crackled through the phone.

"Yeah, Sakura-san?"

"Ehrm, well it's a bit unlike me, but I closed up shop and forgot to—"

"I already took care of it."

"To flip— Huh? You did?" Sojiro's surprise was poorly hidden, "Well, uh, thanks for that. Goodnight." With a click, the dial tone buzzed in his ear signaling Sojiro's goodbye. With that last interruption, he was finally alone. Well, mostly if you didn't include Alibaba's attentive ears. He hung up the phone and made his way back upstairs.

The dreary mood of the car ride didn't leave him too eager to poke more at his room for today. Most of the clutter had been contained anyway. His eyes drifted towards the diary he had abandoned earlier. Come to think of it, he realized he didn't find his original diary among the items in the cardboard box. He was sure he had it on him before he left that weird train car. With a shrug he picked up the diary from the table.

It looked relatively brand new. He turned it over once before opening it up to the first page. Well, it would have been the case, until he looked closer. A large chunk of the pages inside it had been torn out, leaving a slight seam of paper near the diary's spine to show they had been there in the first place. Sojiro had given him a brand new diary in the past, so there was no way he was the culprit here. His eyes roved it over to the inside jacket.

Sojiro's name was written on the inside, but what shocked him was _his_ own name. 'Akira Kurusu', right there in his own handwriting. None of it seemed to add up. Sojiro hadn't commented it was the wrong name in here. There wasn't any way he wouldn't have noticed it if his own signature was in here. Akira's mouth twisted into a deep frown.

"What the hell…" He found himself mumbling out loud. He pushed his thumb to the edges of the other papers and flipped through them. They were all, for the most part, blank. He clicked his tongue in thought. It definitely had something to do with that swap, but for now worrying about it wouldn't get him anywhere. He had to plan for tomorrow to boot.

Feeling the edges of fatigue grip at him, he made his way to his bed. He sat down at the edge, grabbing a pencil from the windowsill that he had pulled out of some of the clutter he had cleaned up earlier. Just as before he wrote the month 'April' at the top of the page. He penciled in the 9th first before pausing. He kept it simple, mentioning when he arrived in Shibuya and about the Risette ads he had seen. Typical mundane stuff. He moved down the page to scribble in a 10.

He wrote down the events of the day as easy as if it were breathing. To be honest, it was kind of a pain he'd be doing this all over, but there wasn't much use in dwelling on it. Sojiro would have his hide if he ignored it. 

Once he had finished dotting his last period he paused. Tomorrow would be when he would enter the Metaverse and meet Ryuji and Morgana. It really would be the start of everything and show the path laid before him. He lifted his pencil before moving it down one line and scribbling one final sentence.

_'Let us start the game.'_


	2. II. The Ace of Wands

Rain wasn't completely uncommon during this time of year. Despite the thick grey clouds outside, Akira had hoped it would start raining by the time he had gotten to school. Despite how often Morgana liked to say he was “lucky”, he had caught the rain starting as soon as he exited the Aoyama-Itchome line. Without past pages of his diary to remind him, trying to completely predict the weather was out of the question. 

_'Not that it really matters,'_ he supposed. He ducked under one of the nearby store's awning to keep dry for now. He hadn’t bothered to bring an umbrella to school this time around. That and there was another reason; this was where he first met Ann Takamaki underneath the awning.

Granted it was more awkwardly staring at her than a proper introduction. In his defense it was hard not to stare. Her ash blonde hair and icy blue eyes stuck out in sharp contrast to most black hair and brown eyes that populated most of Tokyo. Thinking about it, he hadn't really talked to her much before she had ended up joining their ragtag team. In a way, he supposed some part of him didn't understand what she was going through at the time.

Everything with Shiho and making her heart stronger had seemed silly at first. Ann persevered, in her own way, despite it all. Seeing her back to those days before she had stoked the fires of her own passion seemed odd. That was just him getting lost in his thoughts; he hadn't even touched on Ryuji’s own struggles yet. 

Speaking of Ryuji, if Akira didn't enter Kamoshida's palace with him today things would be thrown off track from his original timeline. He needed to make sure this went smoothly; at least enough to get to Morgana. Opening his phone, he tapped open the MetaNav application. If possible, maybe he could keep Ryuji out of harm's way too. Kamoshida's shadow had roughed them up pretty good last time. 

Ryuji was a sturdy guy, so he wasn't all that worried… but if he could keep his friend safe it'd be a cherry on top of the sundae. All he needed were the keywords now. Hopefully it wasn't too obvious to that false god what he was doing. Actually, he probably should give that thing a name by now… Lavenza never mentioned it.

Before his thoughts could linger, someone ran past him. They ducked under the awning next to him, the only thing covering their head was the white hoodie they wore underneath their Shujin Academy uniform. Once they were under shelter did the hood come off. A whirl of ash blonde hair tied in two large ponytails soon revealed who this person was. Ann Takamaki, a member of the Phantom Thieves.

Akira, despite himself, found he was staring at her again. It was a scene-for-scene repeat of their first encounter. He could try the excuse that he couldn't help it, that he was just so _happy_ to see her again. The long days of loneliness had wormed into his heart alongside the fear they had all been killed and he would never see their faces again. She was the first member of the Phantom Thieves he had seen, if you weren’t including an alternate version of himself or Sojiro as an honorary member. The emotions he had been bottling all this time threatened to burst from the inside out. He cleared his throat, in a vain attempt to keep his composure.

How desperately did he want to call out to her, give her his casual smile with a wave that everything was alright. That they would all be together again as not only Phantom Thieves, but as friends. He knew the truth, however. As soon as Ann's icy blue eyes were on him he would be met with their cold indifference. There would be no warm familiarity or relief to see him again. 

That would be one sided on his own part. Standing here thinking that was just starting to get embarrassing. He'd have to accept this reality sooner or later but…

There was a sudden drip of water on the side of his face. Ah, had he moved out from under the awning? Ann finally seemed to notice his stare. As soon as she turned her eyes on him, they went wide with surprise. Her face shifted into concern almost instantly.

"Hey, are you okay...?" There was mild apprehension in her voice, but it was mixed with concern. Akira blinked back dumbly at her.

"Huh?"

Ann's lips curved into a frown. She gently pointed to her own face as a little hint. After that she turned her attention back towards the road. He blinked again and touched his cheek. Only then did it dawn on him. Heh, whoops. He let that one tear slip out of him. He scrubbed at his eye with the back of his wrist before turning his gaze where she was looking. The rain didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon for now. Part of him wished he had remembered to grab an umbrella however. Still, he remembered well what happened next.

As if on cue, a white compact car rolled up on the side of the curb where he and Ann were standing. It slowed before stopping completely. The window rolled down to reveal just who was driving the car. There, with that disgustingly smug smile was Suguru Kamoshida's face. He leaned out from the other side of the car, his eyes latched onto Ann like a hawk to a mouse.

Akira felt a chill crawl down his spine. How _pleasant_ and innocuous Kamoshida seemed to him when he had first encountered him here. It made his stomach churn thinking about it. Everything from the volleyball team's physical abuse disguised as “training”, the sexual harassment of not only Ann but other female students, Ryuji's dreams of becoming a track star being literally crushed underfoot, it was all his doing. Akira's teeth ground together.

"Good morning." Kamoshida greeted, "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late." Despite his outwardly kind intentions, the implications were laced with poison. Not once did Kamoshida look in his direction. It was like he didn’t exist as long as she was in his sights. Ann didn't even flinch under his gaze.

"Um, sure. Thank you." Ann spoke with only the briefest hints of hesitation, but it was there. He had spent enough time with her to know reluctance in her voice. Not only that, but especially with Kamoshida's flavor of blackmail he knew she didn't want to go. There was no way he could sit back and watch this.

Before he realized it, he had reached out and grabbed her arm suddenly. It wasn't a hard grip, but definitely firm enough to surprise anyone who wasn’t expecting it. Ann let out a startled yell and stepped back.

"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Her eyes darted towards Akira’s face and she froze. His hard gaze locked with hers and trapped her. The world felt as if it were paused in that moment.

"You don't have to do this," Akira spoke low as if he were sharing a secret. Technically, he was at this stage. Ann hadn’t told anyone about what Kamoshida had been doing. Her eyes widened in shock, but he could feel she knew what he was hinting at. Confusion, anger, reluctance, all flashed like a colorful display behind her eyes. Their moment ended much too soon.

"Hey kid, what do you think you're doing?!" Kamoshida's voice boomed from the inside of his car. Ann pulled her arm back to her side, breaking it free from his grip. She finally broke their eye contact by looking down at the sidewalk. From there she walked away from him towards the car. She moved no faster than she would have before he had grabbed her. 

Ann opened the car door slowly, slipping into the passenger seat and closing it behind her with a solid thud. She sunk into the seat, but her gaze remained at her shoes. Akira watched on with hands balled into fists.

"Who was that kid, huh? I could put in a word into the board if he's harassing you," He heard Kamoshida's voice as he rolled the window closed.

"Just leave it alone..." Ann mumbled before they were both silenced. Akira could no longer hear their conversation with the window closed. Ann glanced back at him briefly, but Kamoshida was already driving away. He saw her expression clear as a sunny day though; the reluctance gave everything away.

Unfortunately, in this case, his rash action hadn't helped change anything. Only thing he was sure of was he was going to get a lashing from Kamoshida later. He sighed to himself before he realized someone had approached him.

Their shadow loomed right next to him, enough he could almost complain about personal space. Akira turned and his heart was struck a second time. Damn, he was going to need a defibrillator if this kept up.

Ryuji Sakamoto stood there, hunched over with his hands in his pockets looking like Akira had drowned his goldfish. Despite the rain still spraying Tokyo, Ryuji looked like the last thing on his mind was getting his clothes wet. Instead, his gaze was fixed into staring daggers right at him. Akira would've been glad to see him, if he weren't looking like he'd stomp his lights out.

' _Shit_ ,' Akira thought, ' _he saw all that_.' Ryuji wasn't exactly the type of guy who sat on his heels for long if something bothered him. If he thought that he had given Ann a hard time, he would let him know.

"Hey, are you workin' with that pervy teacher?" Ryuji demanded. It clicked in his brain there was one keyword. Not the most subtle keyword, but he couldn’t exactly argue against it. ' _So far so good, Ryuji_.' Unfortunately that left him scrambling to come up with an excuse.

"Pervy teacher?" Akira repeated, deciding playing dumb was the best course of action. He slipped his hands into his pockets, staring at him as innocently as he could muster. Ryuji’s eyes narrowed.

"...Oh, so you planning on rattin' me out to Kamoshida is that it?" His eyes were cold and accusatory. Akira was quickly reminded that being on Ryuji's bad side was _not_ where he wanted to be. He promptly shook his head. Ryuji's eyes narrowed further.

"Then why were you grabbin' Ann like that?" And there it was, the million yen question came out.

"I thought he was a creep and was pressuring her, so I tried to stop her from going. That's all." It was a flimsy excuse, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t telling the truth either. Ryuji's hardened look softened slightly. From the look of it, the excuse was paying off. He didn't look completely convinced, but Akira would just have to prove his innocence further down the conversation if he pried.

"Well, you're not wrong about that one," Ryuji scoffed, scuffing the tip of his shoe against the sidewalk, "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is— the king of a castle?" 

Second keyword locked in. ' _Good job, Ryuji, keep 'em coming_ ,' Akira added silently to himself. They were slowly inching forward, though he was starting to feel bad for being so eager to get those words out of him. 

Maybe in his heart he just wanted things to go back to normal faster. With Ryuji looking at him with such accusation, it was already like a dull knife to the back. Ryuji had paused, he realized, staring at Akira expectantly.

"...Wait. You _don't_ know Kamoshida? Are you for real?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, "You're from Shujin, right?" What a can of worms that question was. Good thing he was known for his calm and collected demeanor otherwise his expression would’ve given away he knew something more. Instead, he glanced to the side with a nonchalant look.

"I guess?" Akira answered with a tiny shrug. That wasn't the answer Ryuji wanted. His glare returned, though his arms dropped to his sides.

"You messin' with me? You're wearing a Shujin uniform." Ryuji paused again, examining the fellow student a bit closer, "A second-year, huh? We're the same grade then… Never seen you before though." Another pause as though Ryuji was thinking. There was a tiny bit of a sucker punch to the gut that his first friend at Shujin didn’t recognize him, but he was starting to unfortunately get used to it. It didn't take him too long before the bottle blonde boy came back out of his thoughts.

"Oh, you a transfer student?" 

' _And we have a winner,_ ' Akira smiled to himself. He only nodded once as his answer. Ryuji's glare turned to surprise, then one of slight guilt. He pushed his hands into his pockets.

"Then no wonder you don't know him. But if ya know what's good for you, you prob'bly shouldn't go around grabbin' girls. That takes some balls, man," Ryuji began turning away from him, as if he realized how long they had been standing there talking, "The rain ain't too bad. We'd better hurry up, or we'll be late." 

On that note, a sudden pulse rippled through the air. Ryuji flinched immediately, but Akira kept his ground. The lightheaded sensation that lingered… he knew it well. It looked like the MetaNav picked all three keywords.

' _Bingo_ ,' Akira hummed to himself.

"Uuugh, my head… dammit, I wanna go home…" Ryuji grumbled just loud enough for him to hear. Akira could sympathize to his plight. What awaited them next would no doubt be unpleasant for the both of them. Ryuji started off walking ahead of him, turning into an alleyway that led towards Shujin Academy. Akira pulled the hand gripping his phone out of his pocket, checking it. The MetaNav had all three keywords inputted, but it seemed as though it were still thinking about the destination’s coordinates. He frowned before pushing it back into his pocket. This damn well better work.

He trailed after Ryuji with that lingering thought. In truth, it would be hard to tell when they entered the Metaverse proper since everything surrounding the outside of the school had been normal. It wasn't like Morgana was here to become a “monster cat” and confirm his suspicions. As he moved through the alleyway, the darker the grey clouds above became. The rain stopped pounding against concrete and echoing off the steel buildings. In fact, the sudden silence was almost enough to trigger the thought they had passed into the Metaverse, but there _was_ one other thing to confirm it.

"W-What?!" 

Ryuji's startled voice from up ahead was the last thing he needed to confirm those suspicions. It definitely worked. He picked up his pace to a jog after him until he emerged from the alleyway. Just as he expected, it was there. 

A grandiose castle sitting almost too snugly between the urban jungle of Aoyama-Itchome. Once grey clouds had swirled into thick purple ones, blotting out the sun. The oppressive atmosphere of Kamoshida's palace was felt even standing outside of it. The gaudy gold of the castle's exterior contrasted sharply to its surroundings. The huge wooden doors only accent the size of Kamoshida’s ego; as if anyone _but_ him could fit through such large doors. Truly, the only hint that this had once been a school was the sign in front that read 'Shujin Academy'.

Ryuji stood there in front of it, mouth agape at the sight. For him, it would be his first time not only entering a Palace, but seeing one close up. For Akira, he was already a seasoned veteran. For now, though, he wasn't garbed in the rebel's attire. It could just be he wasn't a threat to Kamoshida yet… or his power wasn't yet active in this world. Ideally he would prefer the former, it was more than likely the latter.

"We didn't… come the wrong way though…" Ryuji mumbled, looking over his shoulder towards the alley with an unsure look, "Yeah, this should be right…"

Akira's own gaze remained fixed on the castle itself. Morgana was in there somewhere… He just hoped it was where they had found him before. If somehow things were different in this version of his world, that would make things a lot tougher. 

"What's going on here?" Ryuji was looking directly at him now. Akira finally broke his trance to turn and face his once friend. All he could muster was a halfhearted shrug in response to Ryuji’s questioning face. His eyes flicked briefly towards the building and Ryuji seemed to take the hint.

"Guess we go in and ask." Ryuji resigned with a tiny shrug of his own.

With their resolve set, the two nodded to each other. There were no real other options left here. If he clicked the MetaNav and they left, that big nose body stealer would find out something was up. Akira steeled his nerves and walked alongside Ryuji across the thick, wooden drawbridge. Part of him could feel nostalgic in the moment, but truthfully he was just glad he made it here with giving away too much.

Once they entered through the giant double steel doors they were greeted to the castle's eccentric decor. Gaudy couldn’t even cover the outside let alone the inside as a descriptor. Large red rugs lined with golden thread, tapestries of similar hue hanging from the walls, bright eye strain inducing gold chandeliers, and to top it all off a big, fat portrait of Kamoshida's smug face lined with roses, all resided inside the main hall. Every piece of it truly was warped to fit the ideal image of Kamoshida's distorted desires.

Ryuji continued to look around in bewilderment. Any way you looked at it, their situation was downright strange. Flashes of the school could be seen through the instability of the Metaverse, but anywhere you looked it screamed "medieval castle". Akira realized he hadn’t spent much time inside the white walls of the main hall, so he made sure to take in the atmosphere a bit longer.

"This has to be the school… There's no freakin' way…" Ryuji mumbled before pulling out his phone, "No service? Where'd we end up if it's not the school…? The sign was for the school, right?" How desperately Akira wanted to tell Ryuji everything, but he knew it wouldn't make any sense to him anyway. Ryuji still hadn’t grasped most of the nuance of the Metaverse after at least four Palaces. As much as he liked the go-with-the-flow attitude about his friend, even he had to admit that it was a bit of a pain to keep explaining it. Akira glanced to the side them, making sure to stay on guard. The shadows wouldn’t let two intruders alone for very long after all.

"Yeah." He calmly agreed. Ryuji wasn’t all that thrilled about his answer. His brows furrowed and he quickly turned towards him with a bit more panic in his voice.

"Right?! You saw it too!" Ryuji shouted. That had been the key in tipping off the guards, he realized. The soft echo of metal alerted Akira they finally weren’t alone.

Akira flinched and shifted into his battle stance almost instinctively despite being unarmed. From the darkness of the interior of the castle came an armored knight. It was wielding a sword and shield to complete the package. Instead of a normal grate for a helmet, the knight carried a mask with hollow eye sockets and a mouth. No matter how deeply you gazed into them, you could only see darkness. 

They moved with shambled steps across the floor awkwardly, like their armor was too big for their form. The unnatural movement made it nearly obvious to anyone who wasn't looking close enough they weren't completely human. Unfortunately the one who fell into the other category of least observant people happened to be Ryuji Sakamoto.

"Geez, you freaked me out," Ryuji gave a sigh of relief at the armored knight. If the knight heard him, it didn't react at all. Akira relaxed a little bit to play into his "unassuming teenager" role.

“Who’re you? A student?” Ryuji asked all the while moving closer, leaning in to inspect it closer, “Man, your costume’s impressive. Is that armor for real?” Internally, Akira could only wince. Despite Ryuji’s compliment, the armored knight didn’t budge an inch. It merely stared at both of them, unmoving beyond an occasional jerk of its body. The extended silence only added to the eerie atmosphere surrounding the castle itself. Akira scanned the room again. He knew they would be ambushed sooner rather than later here. He didn’t see any enemies right now… perhaps they could make a break for it? 

Ryuji was too focused on the knight in front of him, however. The bottle blonde was growing more visibly agitated at the knight’s quiet demeanor.

“C’mon, don’t just stand there. Say somethin’.” Just as Ryuji opened his mouth, another knight manifested from the shadowy corners of the castle. 

“Dammit!” Akira cursed under his breath. He hadn’t even seen that one. Without his persona abilities nor his third eye, they were sitting ducks. Both he and Ryuji backed up slightly from the sudden swords pointed their way.

“H-Hey, what’s goin’ on?” Ryuji asked, but Akira knew he would get no answer. Akira held his ground. The knights inched closer to them.

“This shit’s real…” Ryuji seemed to finally catch onto the danger. Akira glanced around them, looking to see if they could make a hasty exit. They needed to head down to the dungeons to find Morgana, but if they could elude capture it might help things. Unfortunately, he had formulated his plan a little too late. The knights continued closing the gap between them, squeezing Akira and Ryuji closer together like trapped rats.

“C-calm down! Time out, man!” Ryuji shouted as if that would ward the knights off. It looked to be in vain, however. He grunted before whipping his head towards Akira.

“We gotta run!” Ryuji called out to him. The other boy clicked his teeth in annoyance. ‘ _I’m trying to figure that out…’_ He thought to himself, but they had run out of time. ‘ _Shit_ …’ There wasn’t much of a gap for them to maneuver through, but they had no choice.

“Got it.” Akira replied, moving just as soon as Ryuji had given the okay with a nod. Ryuji was quick to follow after him, already shifting his weight off the balls of his heels. Before they could get far though, the reinforcements had shown up. Akira did have the benefit of his past running training with Ryuji, however, alongside his own physical training with Morgana in his spare time. He managed to slip past one of the reinforcements, but Ryuji was not so lucky. Two more armored knights made a barricade to close off Ryuji’s exit.

“Ugh, hey, what’s with these guys?!” Ryuji hissed. His voice distracted Akira, and before he knew it there were more knights to the other side of him. So much for an escape plan. It wasn’t long before one knight thrust out its shield, directly slamming into Ryuji’s side.

“Gah!” Ryuji grunted before he was knocked to his knees. Akira jerked forward, hands balled into fists, ready to jump into the circle of knights to Ryuji’s aid. Unfortunately, he felt a similar shove by a knight in his own back. He stumbled forward and let out a grunt pain of his own. Ryuji had managed to only fall to his hands and knees, keeping himself upright.

“Ow… Y-you’re gonna break my bones, dammit!” Ryuji still had fire left to spit despite the steel thrown his way, “The hell you think you’re— _Aagh_!” A moan of pain rippled from Ryuji’s throat. Before Akira could move to his side, he felt a sudden hit to the back of his head. His vision swam for a moment before he collapsed to the floor. 

‘ _D-dammit…_ ’ Akira hissed to himself, struggling to keep consciousness. A guard must’ve knocked him from behind again… Before he lost consciousness, he heard the hollow echo of a voice.

“Take them away!"

***

“...Hey! Wake up!”

The fogginess clouding his head seemed to clear at those words. Akira’s eyes blinked once, then twice, before they were met with the worried face of Ryuji. His eyes seemed to light up in relief once they met. He backed out of Akira’s sight and the black haired boy sat up slowly. He still felt a bit disoriented, but overall he couldn’t feel any real injuries. The back of his head sure was sore though. He grabbed the side of his head to soothe it, shaking it slightly as if that would reorient him.

Ryuji got to his feet and then Akira could see properly. This place was no less familiar to him than the castle’s main floor above them. The aged stone chipped away with moss and left to rot under the ivy’s greedy claws was the perfect backdrop behind thick iron bars. Abandoned shackles and the musty air tinged with the faint smell of the river that flooded the interiors outside of their cell told him all he needed to know. They had been successfully escorted into the dungeon cell. The cold damp atmosphere felt even worse than being above ground inside Kamoshida’s castle. If there was one thing that he could give that slimeball credit for, it was making sure this place felt as desolate as possible.

“You alright?” Ryuji asked once he sat up. Akira looked towards him, still hunched over on what he could only imagine was supposed to be a “bed”.

“Yup, you?” It was his turn to ask. In all honesty despite the initial soreness, he didn’t feel too bad. Ryuji seemed to hesitate at first, but gave a tiny nod before rolling his shoulders.

“Yeah, more or less.” He said. Akira stared at him a bit longer, as if to make sure Ryuji was telling the truth, before his attention turned back towards the iron bars. Ryuji scratched at his hair a little, letting his free hand’s thumb sit inside his pocket.

“Looks like this ain’t no dream…” His frown was deep and his eyebrows were furrowed, “Ugh! What’s goin’ on?!” Whatever patience Ryuji was holding onto seemed to wear out. He hurried towards the iron bars, grabbing onto them tightly. He rattled their shared cage, peering out into the seemingly endless hallways.

“Hey, let us outta here! I know there’s someone out there!” Ryuji roared. His voice practically reverberated off the dungeon walls, but was met with no reply. Akira shifted to get to his own feet at that. Ryuji wouldn’t have to worry, those goons wouldn’t be done with them just yet. Part of him wondered if Ryuji was just waiting for him to wake up in order to start freaking out. He glanced around the cell, making sure there wasn’t some sort of way out before Ryuji finally caught the guards’ attention. Unfortunately, despite its dismal state, there weren’t any cracks in the walls they could squeeze through.

No one seemed to be coming, despite Ryuji’s ruckus. The blonde gave up with a sigh, returning back to where Akira was with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Dammit, where are we? Is this some kind of movie set?!” Ryuji’s frustration spilled into his words. Akira couldn’t blame him either. He tried to think of something he could say to comfort him. Suddenly, an agonized scream echoed through the dungeon catching their attention. Both their faces deepend into concern. As if on instinct, they moved towards the iron bars again. Akira peered out, but he couldn’t catch a glimpse of the source of the voice.

“Th-the hell was that just now?” Ryuji asked. Unfortunately, Akira could harbor a guess. It probably was one of the cognitive volleyball members. Kamoshida in the real world must be up to no good if that scream had anything to say about it. That scream also triggered something else; Ryuji’s panic mode.

“Woah… woah, woah, woah…” Ryuji was mumbling to himself now, no doubt trying to calm his nerves. He backed up from the iron door, glancing nervously around the room.

“This is real bad…!” His voice grew shakier at that. No doubt he had gleaned what was in store for both of them from that scream. Akira knew that, too. They couldn’t stay here, but there wasn’t anything they could do. There was no way out beyond the locked iron door in front of them. Neither could squeeze between the bars; they might be skinny high schoolers but that would be too much to ask. At most, Akira could stick his arm through.

“Isn’t there some way outta here?! C’mon, we gotta do somethin’!” Ryuji said, turning towards him. Akira bit his lip with uncertainty. Maybe he should finally tell the other boy _something_ about their predicament. Without any of his other personas, it wasn’t like they could break a wall out of here.

“No, there’s no way out.” He confirmed what he had been thinking, but Ryuji wasn’t having it.

“C’mon, there’s gonna be something!” Ryuji said hurriedly. He moved to the other side of the room, inspecting some random barrels that had been placed in the corner by the iron bars. His hysteria only continued, checking under the bed Akira had been laying on before. All Akira could do was watch him, shaking his head firmly.

“I looked. There’s no gaps we can crawl through nor are the cell keys anywhere close to here.” He stated again, firmer this time. Ryuji’s face fell.

“No way… there’s no way…” Ryuji was mumbling again, “How much time have we been ‘n here…? Dammit, this shit isn’t funny!” It wasn’t long before Ryuji kicked one of the barrels. It let out a hollow thud, but it didn’t budge more than an inch. Looking a bit more relieved that he could vent his frustrations on something, Ryuji’s head turned back towards him, still uncertain. However, it was then they heard the dull sound of metal armor.

Both Akira and Ryuji’s bodies went rigid.

“You hear that?” Ryuji asked him and Akira reluctantly nodded. It wasn't long before the armored knights finally made their appearance. Three of them clustered in front of the door, feeling much more talkative than their previous counterparts.

“Be glad your punishment has been decided upon.” One of them said. Its voice warped when he spoke, sounding enough like Japanese that Akira could pick up on it, but also foreign at the same time. Both boys met the knight’s hollow stare with glares.

“Your charge is “unlawful entry”. Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”

“Say what?!” Ryuji was the first to react.

“No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle.” 

A familiar voice came out from behind the knights. It didn’t belong to any of them, that was for sure. Akira’s teeth grit together. Finally, the king of his castle crawled his way past his guards. In that same way the false god’s smile sickened him, Kamoshida’s was a match made in hell. His appearance now had him adorned in a gold crown to match his castle’s exterior. Alongside it, he wore a red cloak with hearts printed on it and white fur embellished on the collar and bottom of it. The cloak ended just past his knees, giving a prime view of his unshaven legs as well as his feet snugly squeezed into slippers to match his cloak. Saying that he fit the picture image of his ideal self would be more than generous.

Yellow beady eyes replaced his usual brown. Once his full form was in view in front of them was Akira unable to keep the sneer off his face. The shadow version of Kamoshida somehow still managed to tick him off just as much as the real thing. Considering how much he flaunted his rule, maybe his shadow came out just slightly ahead of the real thing for “most likely to get punched in the face”. Ryuji let out a startled gasp.

“Huh? Wait… is that you, Kamoshida?!” Ryuji’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Kamoshida’s shadow ignored Ryuji’s words, continuing on his own tirade.

“I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Sakamoto…” Kamoshida’s lips curled into an ugly smirk, “Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh?” Regardless of Ryuji’s earlier confusion, he was staring daggers into Kamoshida right about now. The shadow ignored it, instead turning his attention directly towards Akira.

“And you brought a friend this time… because you can't do anything for yourself.” Kamoshida’s words cut deeper than those swords his goons were carrying. The dig at “a friend” only made Akira’s heart hurt. Fortunately, Ryuji had enough talk for the both of them.

“This ain’t funny, you asshole!” Ryuji grabbed the bars and shook them. Kamoshida’s eyes darted back towards the blonde boy with a sneer.

“Is that how you speak to a king? Seems you don't understand the position you’re in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me— the king.” Then Kamoshida flashed a toothy grin. Akira felt a chill crawl up his spine.

“The punishment for that is death.” His grin grew wider, “It’s time for an execution! Take them out!” He flourished his hand up into the air at that proclamation. The once stationary knights lifted their swords in agreement. Akira felt his jaw clench even tighter than it already was. This was it. The moment of his awakening.

“S-Stop it!” Ryuji tried to act tough, but his knees were shaking. He backed away from the door as if that would save him from the impending doom on its way. One of the knights pushed the key into the iron door and it swung open with little effort. The knights pooled into the tiny cell, cramming their armored bodies in as best they could. Kamoshida brought up the rear, wearing that smile all the while. Akira’s body tensed. If he could do something here, they could get to Morgana and get the hell out of here with little scrapes.

He remembered Ryuji trying to protect him, and now it was his turn. Before Ryuji could move, Akira stepped in. He quickly shoved his shoulder into one of the guards closest to them. The knight lurched to the side, giving them an opening towards the open iron door. The blonde looked at him in surprise, shocked that he had acted first. 

Akira locked eyes with him with a look that spelled out, “Get moving!”. Unfortunately, the second knight quickly uppercutted Akira’s stomach with the blunt of his sword’s hilt. Akira staggered back and grabbed at his stomach, stunned momentarily. Without his power, he wasn’t quite as sturdy as he thought. Fortunately, he didn’t sink to the floor this time.

“Oh? Trying to run away, are we? What a heartless friend you are, Sakamoto. I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything better from the _Track Traitor_.” Kamoshida heckled from the safety of the other side of the room. Ryuji’s shaking legs stopped for a second. In that moment, Akira could tell he was seeing red.

“Nggh… he’s not my friend… and I ain’t takin’ this shit!” Ryuji was already moving, shoulder checking the knight that had gotten Akira. The thing stumbled into the side of the wall, making just enough room for Ryuji to squeeze next to Akira.

“I’m not leavin’ you here to die, so just hurry up and run away yourself!” Ryuji looked at him with hardened determination. Akira was struck still by those words. He shouldn’t have; it was just Ryuji’s own good natured heart to help out those in need. It didn’t mean anything beyond that. Still, it was the first time Ryuji had acknowledged him as an ally here. It overwhelmed him.

“R-Ryuji…” Akira couldn’t help his name leaving his lips. Ryuji didn’t seem to notice his slip, thankfully. Kamoshida’s voice distracted him.

“Hmph,” was all that Kamoshida mustered in response, looking away flippantly, “Sakamoto, you’ve always been a thorn in my side. Guess I’ll just focus on your execution first.” As if on cue, the knight furthest inside the cell moved in. Ryuji and Akira huddled next to each other, but soon the knight reached out and grabbed Ryuji’s shirt collar. It pushed between them, separating Akira from the blonde. He tried to move, but the last knight cornered him as the second was recovering from Ryuji’s charge.

The first knight drew its sword and pledged it at Akira’s throat. He backed against the wall, effectively pinned as Ryuji struggled against the other knight’s grip. Without a running start like before, all Ryuji could do was thrash about as he tried to free himself. Once the other knight recovered the two of them moved towards their king. They quickly held Ryuji’s arms and propped him upright between them.

They held them before Kamoshida, who smiled with a wicked look in his golden, glowing eyes. Akira was helpless here. He cursed himself again for being too slow, especially when he had all this knowledge of the past. He should’ve acted quicker, done _something_ faster, and now Ryuji was paying the price.

“Take this, worthless scum!” The onslaught began. Kamoshida began ruthlessly pounding his fists into Ryuji’s face. Slap after slap, after slap, of skin hitting skin showed no end in sight. Ryuji’s pained yells echoed throughout the chamber. Akira could barely watch the horror of his friend being beaten so brutally.

“Useless pest!” Kamoshida wound back his fist for one last strike before barreling it into Ryuji’s chest. The force was enough to knock Ryuji clean to the floor with a pained groan. With finality, Kamoshida spit on him with a twisted frown. Akira jerked forward, but only enough so the sword wasn’t plunged into his throat. 

“...Hmph. Where’d your energy from earlier go?” Kamoshida mocked. One of the knights slowly picked Ryuji back up by the back of his school jacket and lifted him to his feet. Both of them held him up again, despite the way his body sagged from Kamoshida’s ruthlessness. His head lolled forward, but it only lasted a second before one of the knights tossed him aside. Ryuji rolled like a lifeless doll across the stone floor, finally stopping a foot away from Akira. Just as he was stationed to move, Kamoshida stepped in front of him staring down at Ryuji.

“A peasant like you isn’t worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.”

“Stop!” Akira had finally had enough. He was so close now. If he could just take out Kamoshida and grab Ryuji... Kamoshida paused, turning slowly around to face Akira. The hollow knights all turned their gaze on his shout.

“Hm?” Kamoshida stepped forward, locking his gaze with Akira’s own, “...That look in your eyes irritates me!” Kamoshida’s leg kicked out, but Akira was faster. He stepped to the side and Kamoshida’s leg hit dead air.

“What the—?!” Kamoshida’s surprise didn’t last long as he floundered. Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for Akira, his knights were paying attention. Two of them moved fast, pinning Akira effectively to the wall with the weight of boulders. Akira struggled against them with all his might, but no amount of training was helping him here. Kamoshida’s lips curled into a snarl, standing before Akira with hatred burning in his eyes.

“You really think you can try such things on me?” Kamoshida hissed, “Just wait your turn. After the peasant, it’s your turn to die.” His attention was back on said “peasant”. Ryuji tried to scramble to his feet, but the third knight’s sword was already being drawn over his head.

“No… No, I don’t wanna die…!” Ryuji whimpered as Kamoshida’s laughter boomed in his ears. Akira’s heart beat against his chest as he struggled, but he had faith. If the events were playing out as they were supposed to, then… 

The world went out of focus suddenly. A single blue butterfly floated past, sparkles trailing wherever it went. Just then, he heard the echo of Lavenza’s voice in his ears.

 _“This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none…”_ Her voice was like a welcome respite to the events happening. That chance; that _almost_ was what he had to bank on not only here, but for this whole game in general.

_“But if my voice is reaching you, then there may yet be a possibility open to you.”_

“It has been a long time…” Akira’s head reverberated with a new voice. The world faded back into the grim scene before him. The blue butterfly had faded out of existence. He struggled against the knight’s grip once more, but listened hard to the voice he was well acquainted with.

“I would have thought better of you to play your winning hand this late in the game.” The voice’s tone was playful. To be honest, he was shocked to hear him regard him with such familiarity. Then again, _he_ was a part of him.

“I think you’re the one who’s late here…” Akira found himself mumbling aloud. That made Kamoshida and the knights pause.

“What are you doing?” He demanded suddenly. Akira ignored him in favor of listening harder.

“Was your resolve before really so base? Have you been hollowed through by that false god?” The voice, smooth as fine silk, asked him, “Are you certain you will not stray from your justice yet again?” Akira swallowed a lump in his throat. Before he hadn’t believed in his resolve. That his justice, in fact, maybe wasn’t real justice at all. 

His mind flashed back to the moment when he had intervened to save that woman from a drunken Shido. Her cry for help echoed in his ears. The circumstances that led to his own arrest and current probation haunted him. That event had single handedly ruined his life. The fact he wore fake glasses just not to stick out and cause trouble, the fact all his friends from his hometown had begun to shun him despite his claims they were false accusations, and even his parents sending him away to some stranger’s place instead of watching over him themselves was all because of that moment.

However, not once did he doubt that decision he had made. Not now, not ever. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts had never once looked at him with scorn for being accused of a crime he did not commit. They believed in him just as he believed in them. Yet that had warped his judgement. He had been seduced by the false god because of that belief that no matter what, they wouldn’t judge him. If he followed that god’s wishes, he could return to their thieving ways and continue on living with the thought that they would never be torn apart again.

One of the knights hadn’t paused in its duty. It pulled Ryuji up by the collar again as he continued to desperately struggle. Ryuji’s whimpers echoed in his ears. He didn’t want to see his friends suffer again. It was inevitable in a way, because they would be facing that god sooner or later. Despite all that, he couldn’t find himself giving up here. He had the key. A key to their salvation this time. 

His memories; a chance to make up for those past mistakes.

“You’ll just have to stick around long enough to see it.” He spoke softly with a smirk. One of Kamoshida’s eyebrows raised. There was a muted laugh from the voice. Akira could feel the mirth in it without even seeing his toothy smile.

“Very well, then I shall aid you once more. I shall heed your resolve.” Akira felt a painful thud against the inside of his chest. His thrashing became even more violent, practically tossing his body in every direction as the knights struggled to keep their grip on him. He could feel the power coursing its way into his veins. The surge was so powerful his body could barely contain it without him writhing in pain. He recalled this feeling well.

“Vow to me.” The voice ordered, and a pulse rocketed through Akira’s ribcage. His skeleton practically shuddered with every breath he took as he swallowed for air. He groaned in pain, but fought to persevere against the intense pressure inside of him.

“I am thou… thou art I… Thou who art willing to warp the chains of causality for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!”

Akira let out an agonized scream. Kamoshida flinched, but Akira’s body never stopped writhing. The pain was clouding his vision, but still he was able to have a grasp on his thoughts. The words echoed into his very soul, etching their way across it like a blood oath.

“Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!”

Akira’s head lolled forward, finally feeling the power settle within him. It was condensing, manifesting squarely inside his chest. The pressure nearly crushed his lungs, but he was still alive. Suddenly, he was thankful for the knights keeping him upright through all that. With a heaving breath, he spoke.

“That’s enough.” His voice was hoarse, but stayed firm. Kamoshida’s eyebrows furrowed together. The knight holding Ryuji paused in his motions.

“Have you finished your little hissy fit?” Kamoshida tilted his head slightly and squinted at him, “If you really want to die that badly, I’ll be merciful and grant your wish.” He gestured his head to the side. On that command, the knight released Ryuji. The blonde fell to the floor, his back pressing against the wall to keep him upright. The two knights holding Akira down moved, but not without one sucker punching him in the face with his shield. His glasses shot off his face and spun to the other side of the floor. They then moved their swords crisscross against Akira’s neck, holding him in place as the other knight shambled towards him.

The burst of power in the form of a gust exploded from Akira. His limbs seared with energy, burning through him like fire caught paper to ash. The knights were blown back alongside Kamoshida from the sheer force of the awakened power. The knight who was once holding Ryuji was also tossed aside. Ryuji wasn’t spared in the power’s wake, being pushed back into the stone wall further. He pulled up his hands to block himself from the gust itself.

Akira lifted his head. The picaro’s mask covered his eyes, sitting almost too naturally on his face. Slowly he reached up, letting his fingers gently feel the fabric of the mask. Then in one swift motion he grabbed the edge of it with just one hand. Agonizingly slow, he peeled it away. The sickening sound of skin tearing from sinew filled the chamber. Blood splattered to the ground and across his face as he let out another excruciating scream. Pain seeped its way into every pore of his skin. As soon as the mask freed its grip, he felt the power surge out from his chest effectively cleansing away the pain in a burst of fire.

A thick smile cracked his face. Blue flames engulfed him, baptizing him once more with the power of his persona. They licked at the edges of his skin with intensity, not once burning his own flesh. They burned away the clothes of a normal student, revealing his rebel’s garb. His body crumpled for a moment before he stood up straighter. The sound of chains clattered around him as laughter filled the chamber. The flames flourished off of Akira’s body and into their own form rising from behind him. Slowly they contorted into a more solid form.

The knights were already struggling to their feet, no doubt trying to protect Kamoshida. Two great black wings beat once forward and the room was filled with another gust of air. They were tossed aside like toy soldiers. It was Kamoshida’s turn to start whimpering. His feet scrabbled against the stone flooring in an attempt to get away from whatever was behind the boy he had sought to kill. Ryuji remained motionless, only keeping his mouth agape.

“I am the pillager of twilight— ‘Arsène’!” Arsène finally manifested fully with a flourish of his great, black wings, pulling one clawed hand up to his face. His brilliance was matched with the flickering blue flames that accompanied him. Finally, Akira’s real power was returning. Time for some sweet revenge.

“What the…?” was all that mustered out of Ryuji. Akira turned his attention toward the cowering Kamoshida. His bravado had all but faded now at the sight of him.

“Since you have transcended the chains that once bound you, I shall continue to provide you this power until you have succeeded in this ill fated game.”

“Let’s do this, Arsène.” Akira said sternly.

“Very well!” Arsène’s laughter bellowed throughout the chamber. Kamoshida had finally scrambled to his feet, alongside the knights that had been knocked away by Arsène’s wind.

“Who the hell are you?!” Kamoshida screeched, “Guards! Kill that one! You’ll see the true strength of my men!” The knights leapt to their feet at his call. Their bodies shuddered and melted into a black ooze before their true forms were revealed as a pair of Jack-o'-Lanterns. Akira— _Joker_ —now readied himself. Through the power of Arsène, a knife conveniently shot into his hand through his coat’s sleeve. Gripping the hilt, he prepared for the creatures’ assault.

The first Jack-o'-Lantern wagged its lantern, letting out a burst of fire. Now boosted with Arsène’s power, Akira quickly dodged out of the way making sure to leap to the side away from Ryuji. He moved with precise speed, flipping his knife between his fingers before gripping the hilt and stabbing it into the enemy. The Jack-o'-Lantern burst into black sludge easily and disappeared. The other Jack-o'-Lantern hesitated, floating back a few paces before charging towards Akira with a spin. This one he felt the impact, but it hurt as much as it did getting bit by a mosquito. Akira twisted his body, pushing his fingers into his mask as he summoned his power.

“Arsène!” He called from the depths of his heart, ripping the mask clean off, and the red figure appeared in all his mystique. He twisted midair and a burst of dark energy cascaded onto the enemy. It screeched in pain until it too was reduced to nothing more than ash. Kamoshida was beginning to lose his nerve. His teeth chattered against his skull as Akira shifted his attention towards him. Arsène disappeared in a burst of blue flame, leaving only Akira standing.

“What… What was that just now…?” Ryuji finally stuttered out a sentence. Kamoshida, despite losing his faithful guards, still managed to have some bark.

“You little…” He walked closer to Akira. It was then Ryuji found his courage again. He lifted himself off his feet, quickly tackling Kamoshida to the floor. He fell over with a thunderous groan as Ryuji towered over him. 

“Ha, you like that you son of a bitch?!” He gloated. Akira took that opportunity.

“The key!” He shouted. Ryuji’s eyes darted to the floor. There lying there were the cell keys Kamoshida had generously left them with via his more than graceful fall.

“You mean this?” Ryuji asked before his hand darted down and scooped them up. With the keys in tow, the two rushed for the cell’s exit. On the way out, Akira grabbed the door and swung it to a loud close. Ryuji hurried in, jabbing the key into the door and locking it.

“There! It’s locked!” Ryuji confirmed loudly. With that, Kamoshida finally found his footing and grabbed the cell door angrily. Ryuji and Akira stepped back lest to face his spitting red face.

“Damn you…!” Kamoshida spat. Ryuji ignored him for now, turning his full attention to Akira. He already had an idea of what Ryuji wanted to say.

“What the heck was that? And your clothes…”

“You bastards!” Kamoshida roared, interrupting Ryuji. He banged on the iron door a few more times to no avail of it budging.

“God, this is effin’ nuts,” Ryuji said under his breath, “C’mon, let’s scram! You lead the way!” Akira nodded in response to his request. Even if Ryuji hadn’t asked him to lead, he would have gone ahead anyway. The two hurried away, leaving the rattling of Kamoshida banging against the cell door and his screams behind them. Ryuji made sure to toss the keys into the ravine ahead of them just for good measure.

From there the two quickly moved through the cavern. With Akira at the helm, he knew exactly the layout of the dungeons below Kamoshida’s castle to maneuver them easily. He had studied the map carefully, after all, considering their route to the treasure needed to be secured every time they went in as well as an escape route. Ryuji seemed more concerned about finding a way out than _he_ did for the moment.

Soon enough, he recognized a familiar roadblock. The bridge was raised alongside the creepy Kamoshida bust at its side. Akira passed the bridge, despite a protest from Ryuji about the bridge being up. Once he hit a dead end did he pause. Any moment now, Morgana should call out to them for help. Just as Ryuji was hurrying up behind him, mentioning something about a “dead end” did he hear it.

“...Hey, you there. Blondie! Frizzy head! Look over here!” A familiar voice called out in the bleakness of the dungeon. Akira’s head immediately spun towards it. There, in the shadows, he could make out his literal saucer sized blue eyes. The bipedal monster-cat clung to the bars of the prison cell, pulling at them while waving a paw to get their attention. Certainly, anyone who had seen Morgana would have looked twice and thought they were hallucinating. His mascot-like look would turn anyone’s head.

Akira couldn’t help but find himself breathing a huge sigh of relief. It took nearly all his willpower not to shout “Morgana!” and jump wistfully into his… paws. Point was, he was glad Morgana was safe at least. That was one weight off of his mind for now. Ryuji happily interrupted his mental reunion with a shout.

“What is this thing?!” He pointed in surprise. Morgana swiftly ignored him to focus on getting down to brass tacks.

“You’re not soldiers of this castle, right?! Get me out of here! Look! The key’s right there!” Morgana stretched out his paw to point towards the wall. Sure enough, some guard conveniently left the key ring hanging just out of Morgana’s reach. Man, talk about cruel. Considering how short he was, that was just plain mean. Ryuji looked at Morgana with a heavy dose of skepticism.

“We’re trying to get the hell out of here!” He explained, “I mean, you obviously look like an enemy, too!” Morgana’s large eyes practically shrunk in surprise.

“I’m locked up here, so how can I be your enemy?! Help me out!” Morgana flapped his paw again with a bit more anger behind it. Akira looked towards Ryuji who still seemed to be mulling it over. The sound of the armored knights’ footsteps echoed in the distance.

“They’re catching up to us!” Ryuji hissed before pulling out his phone, “Shit, there’s still no service. Ain’t there a way we can contact someone outside?!” While Ryuji was mulling over their predicament, Akira locked eyes with Morgana.

“If we help you, can you show us the way out?” He asked. This was just cutting out the middleman. As happy as he was to see Morgana again, they couldn’t spend all day dawdling. Those knights were bound to catch up eventually. Morgana’s eyes lit up at that, though Ryuji turned to him with a questioning look.

“Are you really trusting this… monster-cat thing?!” He asked with concern. The fur on Morgana’s back bristled at that. Oh boy, Ryuji already said the “c word”.

“Hey, I am not a cat! I dare you to say that again!” He hissed, but Ryuji ignored him. Akira could only look back at him with a hardened look.

“We don’t have much time, they’ll catch up to us sooner or later. If he got locked up then he had to have come in from somewhere,” Akira tried to explain his reasoning to Ryuji. The blonde hummed over it, but the sudden clanking of metal from nearby jump started his final decision.

“O-Okay, fine fine! You better be right about this!” Akira merely smiled back at him. He quickly reached for the keys and bent down towards the door. He hastily shoved the key into the lock and twisted it open. Morgana pranced out like a free bird, stretching his paws up over his obscenely large head.

“Ahh… Freedom tastes so good…” He practically purred out. Ryuji rolled his eyes at the sight.

“Now, where’s the exit, you monster cat?!” Ryuji cut to the chase. He bent over slightly with worry coloring his tone.

“Don’t call me a cat! I am Morgana!” Morgana announced with a bit of frustration of his own.

“Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again?!” Ryuji spat back. Their squabbles still went as far back as their first meeting it seemed. Akira found some humor in the situation, but fortunately Morgana was smarter than to dwell on the cat comment too long.

“A-Alright, sheesh!” Morgana relented, twisting his paws together slightly, “Follow me, and stay quiet.” 

The ragtag group set off for the same bridge they had encountered before. Akira took the lead on this one, cranking it open by pulling out the Kamoshida statue’s jaw. The drawbridge crashed down, flattening itself out as a proper bridge for them.

Morgana made a comment of how odd he hadn’t used it before if he knew about it, but Akira kept moving. If they had just ran past Morgana all of this would’ve been fruitless. He felt bad for referring to Morgana as a tool in this case, but with Ryuji trying to speedrun his way out of the Palace, and the fact he needed Morgana’s outside eye as one who knew this much about the Metaverse, it was a necessary evil. As they moved, Morgana had sidled up next to him and began sizing him up.

“So, you can wield a persona too, huh?” He asked. He was obviously referring to his rebel attire. Akira could only nod one before Ryuji let out a scream. A knight had shown up at the far end of the room, effectively blocking their path.

“Oh shit, oh shit it’s them!” Ryuji scrambled backwards, but Morgana leapt heroically forward.

“Tch… you amateur!” He said as he landed right in front of Ryuji, “Stay still.” His eyes turned towards Akira almost immediately. Before he could say much else, Akira was already shoving his way to the front lines as well. Morgana smirked before he shifted his stance.

“Let’s go!” Morgana shouted, “Come, Zorro!” With a blinding flash of light, and another scream from Ryuji, something burst from behind Morgana. The similar blue flames that had whipped around Akira now enveloped Morgana. Chains crackled from behind him and there was a tall mustached man clad in all black wielding a rapier. He flashed his sword with a quick twist of his wrist in front of the foe before them. 

“Y-You have one of those things too?!” Ryuji had asked, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of battle. The armored knight groaned before bursting into another Jack-o'-Lantern they had seen before. Akira wouldn’t let himself be outdone here. He stepped to Morgana’s side, readying his knife as Morgana pulled out his own scimitar from seemingly nowhere. Before the Jack-o'-Lantern could move, it was over. Akira had sped forward and slashed it with a twist of his knife. Morgana gave an impressed look once Akira finished.

“Not bad, you’re pretty powerful with that persona.” Morgana complimented him. Akira only shoved his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

“Persona?” Ryuji had finally scraped himself off the ground to stand next to them, “Y’mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?” Despite Ryuji’s earlier comments, Morgana seemed eager to answer his question.

“Yes. Everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that…” Morgana paused, “Actually, there’s no time for me to give a lecture! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right?! Let’s go!” 

Akira breathed a sigh of relief at that. It was short lived before Morgana caught his attention with a flick of his paw.

“Oh, but before that—- take these. Use them carefully, okay?” He reached into his tiny yellow tool-belt before giving Akira a few bits of medicine, “Come on, we should hurry. It’s not much farther to the exit.” 

Before long the three were moving again throughout the dungeon. Fortunately, they made it back to the main floor with little incident. Those medicines didn’t even come in handy when it was compared to Akira’s power. Oddly, he did feel a lot stronger than he should at this stage. Back then he was still learning the ropes of combat with his persona. 

Was it really because of his memories? Arsène did recognize him in this world too, but he just figured it was because he was a part of him. It would be strange if Akira remembered everything, but Arsène didn’t. Part of him felt unsure, but he decided not to dwell on it too long.

Eventually, they finally made it to an empty room with an air duct leading out into the entrance of the castle. There was some minor fuss from Ryuji, but overall he was at least happy they were getting the hell out of dodge. Once the metallic mesh covering the duct was off, Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’re actually getting the hell out of here!” He let his body slump forward a little. Morgana was ready to be the “fun police” on that idea.

“You shouldn’t start celebrating until you’re actually out. Now, get going!” The not-cat huffed, wagging his paws as if that would ward Ryuji off. The blonde boy frowned, staring down at him with a concerned look.

“But... what about you?” Ryuji asked. Akira could say that was probably the first genuinely nice thing Ryuji had said towards him in their brief span together. Morgana frowned in thought, but it was only for a moment.

“There’s something I still have to do.” He said, “We’re going our separate ways.” Akira grimaced. That was the one thing he didn’t want to hear right now. Still, he couldn’t exactly have a deeper conversation about things if Ryuji was around.

“Thanks.” Akira said with a tiny bow of his head towards Morgana. He had helped them, so it was only proper to give him some recognition.

“Heh. You’ve got manners.” Morgana chuckled slightly, “Be careful on your way.” Without a second more, Ryuji nodded to him and hurried towards the bookcases. He struggled, but climbed on top of them towards where the air duct lay. Akira let Ryuji go first in this case. As soon as Ryuji’s shoes were no longer visible, Akira turned back towards Morgana. The not-cat gave him a confused look.

“What’re you doing? Don’t you want to get out of here?” He asked, tilting his large head towards him. Akira glanced to the side for a moment. He had thought about this plenty, yet pulling it off seemed much more difficult for some reason. He dug into his pocket before pulling out a slip of paper. He had prepared this that morning before he left for the station. He pushed it into Morgana’s open paws. The not-cat took it with some uncertainty, glancing down for a second at it.

“I need to meet up with you again.” Akira stated firmly, “Go to that address as soon as you can.” It probably would take him longer considering his, uh, legs were so short. Morgana looked at him with some skepticism. He turned his attention towards the piece of paper, opening it and inspecting it carefully.

“Like I said, I still have something to do…” Morgana reiterated. Akira sucked in a breath. That was the part he was worried about. He knew Morgana was looking for answers about himself here; he told him that as much himself. If Morgana refused him now, it would be much harder to get a head start on things. Akira pulled his arms to his sides. He then quickly hunched over, giving the deepest bow he could muster while standing upright.

“Please!” He squeezed his eyes shut. Morgana was silent as he stared at the blackness behind his eyelids. After a few moments, he heard a sigh.

“...Fine. I’ll see what I can do.” Morgana resigned. Akira lifted his head with a smile and nodded again. Relief fluttered into his chest just from that alone.

“Thanks, Morgana.”

“Don’t mention it, now just get going already!” Morgana shooed him away once more. This time Akira reluctantly agreed, hurrying after Ryuji without a second thought. He knew Morgana would keep his promise, but worry still ate away at his chest. If he didn’t end up showing up, what would he do next? He’d have to figure that one out later.

He pulled himself up onto the bookcase before disappearing inside the air duct without another glance behind him.


	3. III. Two of Coins

Naoto Shirogane watched the steam from her coffee rise into the air of the empty room. Her only friends here seemed to be the endless amount of file cabinets that filled every inch of the room. It was a quiet respite from the busy atmosphere of the Tokyo Police Department’s offices. While she had originally only decided to check in on everyone on an impromptu visit to Tokyo, she had hid away in the room where all the case files were held. She found herself thankful for the tiny moment of peace amongst the chaos of Tokyo. Even she was starting to miss the quiet days she spent in Inaba.

Deep blue eyes returned to scanning the document in her hand pressed inside a pristine vanilla folder. The more she scanned the clipped newspaper headlines, police reports, and autopsies, the more concerned she grew. A few pictures of the crime scenes were paperclipped to the inside of the folder itself. Their story told enough of just what exactly she was dealing with here. She then reached over past her abandoned hat to the coffee cup sitting on the table. Maybe taking a drink would wash the disgusting taste of the information here out of her mouth.

While these incidents were recent, she had found it piqued her interest. The mental shutdown cases alongside the psychotic breakdowns weren’t something to take lightly. Their nature in itself seemed odd, which was the first thing to catch her attention. The only time she had remembered reading about a case of a mass mental-related shutdown was something similar that started in Tatsumi Port Island. 

Apathy Syndrome, or better known as Mass Lethargy Syndrome, had something akin to the mental shutdowns; both seemed to suffer from an unknown internal attack thus causing the patient to lose consciousness. Even more interesting was that neither patients ever _truly_ died solely because of Apathy Syndrome or mental shutdown. Mental shutdown, according to the autopsy reports, only seemed to be a trigger for spiraling the patient’s already poor health’s decline leading to a cause of death. Other deaths had been outside related accidents, due to vehicular collision or another outside force. 

Psychotic breakdowns, while not completely the same as mental shutdowns, had similar symptoms. Psychotic breakdowns weren’t actually fatal to the person who suffered them. The victims of psychotic breakdowns would live after they had recovered from their frenzied state if they weren’t killed because of it. The doctors’ notes on the subject of Apathy Syndrome mentioned a specific “loss of will to live” in those patients. Naoto noticed, however, mental shutdown patients had a similar mention, in that “it was as if they had lost all their desire to live”.

That was all she had read in past reports documented by the police department. Most of its contents were kept under wraps with the nature of protecting the public eye from mass hysterics, but due to the Shirogane’s well standing in the department it wasn’t much of a problem for her to access some documents. Most of the more detailed reports were beyond her grasp unfortunately, but she could work with what was given.

Of course, Naoto knew the truth of Apathy Syndrome. The truth that shadows were the main cause, due to the incident with Kanami Mashita. The shadows of the people who viewed the video that had been sent out had their shadow selves spirited away into the TV world, therefore losing a part of themselves and reducing them to that similar vegatative state. Still, it was classified as something differently by the health department. If it was that easy, mental shutdowns would just be called another round of Mass Lethargy Syndrome.

In the end, it left her puzzled. How did it all connect to each other? The psychotic breakdown and mental shutdown cases seemed close, but not enough that she could completely connect them together.

Taking a careful sip of her coffee, she flipped over another page. Her eyes narrowed in on the case report. Ah, she remembered this one.

This was a more recent one, by only a few days in fact, detailing an incident with a subway conductor on the Shibuya train mainline. He suffered a psychotic breakdown, derailing a train in the process via increasing its speed to dangerous levels. Eighty people were confirmed to be involved in the incident, with many hospitalized including the driver’s own untimely death. It alternatively backed up traffic on other lines as well as increased foot and car traffic. It was a massive incident; one that they were still sorting through the wreckage to this day.

Naoto stared at the autopsy for the subway driver. The confirmed cause of death was due to external injuries. Due to the driver’s consistent work schedule earlier that day, the police had ruled it in favor of the possibility that it was a psychotic breakdown that caused the driver to push the train to a higher speed and run out of control. Alongside it was exposed that the recent finding that the funds to keep the tracks in proper shape were being funneled elsewhere, thus why the damage was substantial from the wreckage. The information dug up no doubt led the Ministry heading towards a scandal as soon as the media obtained knowledge on it, which was only a matter of time by now. She scanned the report further, noticing a particular name on the file list who turned it in. 

Goro Akechi was listed as the one who filed the report and the detective on scene.

“Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince himself,” A voice spoke from the direction of the door of the filing room, “Or, rather, I should say herself.”

Naoto looked up in surprise. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Her eyes locked with none other than the boy who had filed the report himself, Goro Akechi. He stood in the doorway of the room, an ever pleasant smile playing at his lips. Their shared look held no malice between them, but Naoto couldn’t exactly say she was thrilled to meet him for the first time.

While it may seem petty to outsiders, this was the second thing that piqued her interest in this case. Goro Akechi, a relatively nameless person in the police force was suddenly shooting up the ranks of notoriety due to his casework on the psychotic breakdown incidents. In fact, his wit was so quick that he usually only took a few days to solve the reasons behind each case no matter how deeply they were sunk in mud. 

However, this made her suspicious. He was relatively young, still only a highschooler and continuing his classes even now. Naoto had only been offered to work in police cases at a young age herself due to her family’s heritage. How had he gained so much clearance in such little time? While the number of cases hadn’t been rampant until recently, there were reports that lead up to around two years back she had seen.

Perhaps one could read it as merely jealousy, but Naoto wasn’t a fool either. Corruption wasn’t exactly outside of the reach of the police either; Adachi was a prime example. It was possible someone was pulling strings just out of her reach, but she wanted to believe in good intentions here. Maybe she was just becoming the very adults she had despised when she had started. They had looked down on her and treated her merely as a child. She could recognize Akechi’s intelligence at the very least. Still, she supposed it wasn’t her place to doubt him as of now.

“Goro Akechi.” She returned his greeting with a tiny nod of her head, “I didn’t believe that we’d meet while I was here.”

“I’m flattered to be known by name by the famed Detective Prince.” He replied. Naoto set down the folder onto the white desk at his response. Akechi took that opportunity to stroll further into the room. He stopped right next to the desk, a polite smile still on his face. Naoto watched him quietly, taking another drink of her coffee as he joined her.

“I wouldn’t think much of it. After all, we work in the same profession. It wouldn’t exactly do if I didn’t know some of my peers.” Naoto spoke calmly, “If anything, I am more surprised you know about that whole “Detective Prince” debacle.” That earned her a small chuckle from Akechi.

“I suppose you are right, I shouldn’t have expected any less from a fellow detective,” He agreed, then tilted his head to the side and cupped his chin, “As for your title, I know how the media loves to talk. Due to my recent cases, they’ve all but named me ‘the second advent of the Detective Prince’. It’s a little embarrassing to be honest… I’m quite humbled by it, but we’re all just doing our jobs. I just looked into who this ‘first’ happened to be.”

“You should take it in stride,” Naoto closed her eyes with the tiniest bit of irritation. That prince title had really done no one any favors, really. As annoying as she found the media, they were just trying to bolster the reliability of the local police to the public. Having a figure as the face of the department always ended up a good story, she had learned. She almost felt bad that her, now former, title had been shoved onto him.

“I suppose you can just find that title as a backhanded compliment. Your casework has been nothing short of impressive, however.” Naoto levied him a compliment. He looked surprised for a moment, before his smile returned.

“Thank you, Shirogane-san.” He said, pausing only for a moment, “I don’t believe I knew that you were assigned any cases out here.” His red eyes were turned towards the now abandoned folder. There was no doubt he recognized its contents considering the condition it was held in.

“Ah, no. This is just a thing of personal interest. I’m only visiting at present.”

“Ah, that’s right! You were transferred to Inaba after that serial murder case a few years ago if I remember correctly?”

“Yes. Considering my grandfather lives there, and he is getting up in the years, it was better for me to work nearby.” Naoto watched him carefully. He didn’t seem to question her motives further, instead leaning against the side of the desk. His gloved fingers moved towards the abandoned file, gently brushing its surface.

“May I?”

“Of course.” Naoto gave him a small nod as a go ahead. With her approval, he moved and brought the file up to his chest. Once he opened it, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh my,” He blinked towards her, “So you’re looking into the psychotic breakdown cases too?” His eyes were on her then and there. There was a sort of expression underneath that she couldn’t quite make out; like he was scrutinizing her behind that smiling face. Naoto sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest.

“ _‘Looking into’_ is a strong way to put it. The recent stir caught my attention. I’m only visiting, so I don’t really have time to delve into it deeper myself. I’ll leave it in your hands.”

“Oh I see. I’m glad to know you have such faith in me. Why _are_ you visiting, anyway, if I may ask Shirogane-san?”

“I’m here visiting two friends, that’s all. Nothing business related. I decided to stop in today to see some old co-workers and check up on things.”

“Haha, seems you can’t escape the call of work, hm?”

“What can I say? I suppose it’s just my detective’s intuition.” Naoto closed her eyes with a small shrug. Akechi seemed to find some humor in that, letting out a small chuckle. He didn’t seem all that bad from what she could tell. Pleasant was an easy way to describe him. His eyes returned to the document in front of him with a neutral frown. Naoto decided maybe this would be a good opportunity to see just how much Akechi knew. Perhaps even answer her own questions.

“Since you’re here, Akechi-san, allow me to pick your brain for a moment,” It was Naoto’s turn to ask a question. His eyes turned up from the page, looking at her with newfound curiosity. He only nodded a little for her to go ahead and ask what she wanted.

“Is your family in detective work? Not to discredit you, but you’re awfully young for a detective.” Naoto decided to hit straight to the point. Akechi didn’t seem phased by her question, only opting to look at her evenly.

“I’d say I’m wounded by your words, but you are right to have some skepticism. To answer your question properly, no. I’m unfortunately an only child to a no name family.” He said it so casually, it caught her off guard. She supposed it was merely due to their different backgrounds. Naoto grew up being tied to her family’s heritage. It was a hard thought to grasp not knowing what it was like to know her lineage.

“I see.” She answered with a glance downward. Akechi must have noticed her uncomfortable look.

“Oh, please don’t feel sorry for me. I like to believe I grew up relatively normal.” His smile was back on his face, as if that would brighten the darkened mood.

“I meant no disrespect, Akechi-san.” Naoto replied, “With your wit, the police department is lucky to have you. I was just surprised someone your age managed such a position without connections. Even I only had my family’s name to help me get into a stronger position with the Inaba serial murder case.”

“I have no doubt they merely underestimated your skills, Shirogane-san. Your work on that case was quite imperative in catching the culprit.” His words of praise probably helped him along the chain of command, she noted to herself. People were always more receptive to praise. She herself wouldn’t go around to claim she was very “personable”. His words of flattery appeared sincere, but she had heard those words time and time again. Just how much did he know about the serial murder case anyway…? This conversation was steering into a direction she didn’t want to focus on.

“Thank you, but I didn’t close that case on my own. I can’t take all the credit for it.” She shifted in her seat a little. Akechi only nodded once.

“Of course. You had a lot of cooperation from the Inaba police department, despite the culprit ending up being one of their officers.” He clicked his tongue with a frown, “A shame, I’d say.”

“Akechi-san, I’d like to change the topic."

“Ah, of course, my apologies! Was there something else you wanted to know?”

“You’re still working on the current psychotic breakdown incidents, correct?” She asked. 

“Yes, that’s right.” Akechi nodded once to confirm, “I’ve been working in tandem with Niijima-san. There’s still a lot we don’t actually know about their cause, unfortunately. Many of the doctors we’ve checked with seem to believe it’s merely just the body giving out via unidentified trauma or stress considering the victims are fine once their ordeal is over. For the ones among the living, that is.”

The name Niijima sounded briefly familiar to her. Just then it hit her. Sae Niijima, she recalled. Naoto had seen her name mentioned inside the case documents related to the mental shutdown cases. Apparently, she had worked on the prosecution of some of the cases before.

“So, there’s no confirmed trigger?” Naoto focused on that. Akechi shook his head with a frown.

“At this phase, no. Many victims of the shutdowns end up dead before questioning and the psychotic breakdown victims don’t seem to recall anything before they began to frenzy.” Akechi seemed frustrated at that moment. She couldn’t really blame him. With so little information to go on, there wasn’t much they could do beyond speculation.

“I see…” Naoto cupped her chin, “Looking into it, these incidents seem strange.”

“Well they’re no doubt strange, alright.”

“Beyond the fact the victims seem to undergo a sort of mental psychosis, I mean.” Naoto restated, “Have you heard of Apathy Syndrome? It also is known as Mass Lethargy Syndrome.” That earned her a surprised look from him. Akechi’s brows screwed together in thought, humming briefly to himself.

“I was too young at the time to properly recall hearing about it when it was at its peak but… the name does sound familiar to me. I believe there was another strain of it in Shibuya a few years ago.” He confessed. Naoto nodded to herself. She had seen those cases first hand after all.

“Apathy Syndrome was a case of people suffering from an internal force that eventually led to them turning into a vegetive-like state. It was localized around Tatsumi Port Island, though some of it did leak out into other cities as well. I can’t help but see some connections between the two. While the psychotic breakdowns don’t fit its symptoms, the mental shutdowns align quite well. Both can also make people enter a comatose state as well as both causing a mental state of unwellness.”

“That is quite a theory… But I don’t think they’re connected in this case.” Akechi dropped his hand to his hip.

“Oh?”

“Do you remember what resolved Apathy Syndrome?” Akechi asked. Naoto racked her brain for an answer.

“I can’t recall an answer actually given. It just seemed to disperse once January hit.” Naoto cupped her own chin with a tiny sigh, “It didn’t exactly resolve any of the patients currently afflicted… it just stopped the cases from cropping up.”

“It’s those reports that make me believe there is something else to these incidents.” Akechi hummed, “The Tatsumi Port island cases had no real rhyme or reason in who was afflicted. Elderly, children, young people all were affected by it to some degree. With that, I believe those few cases in Shibuya matched the symptoms from Tatsumi Port Island quite well. However, an exception to that rule would be how the case itself played out. They were spoken as acts of cyber-terrorism and had a key target in honing in on those who were interested in that idol who was the focus surrounding it.

“Psychotic breakdowns by nature are quite different from its mental shutdown counterpart. I’m sure you’re already aware of that. At present, those who suffered from both mental shutdown or psychotic breakdown were all adults in the terms of their age. I believe that is a key important fact we have regarding the little information we have to go on.”

“I see… that lines up with a possible theory I have,” Naoto said with a frown. Akechi tilted his head to the side. That was her cue to explain herself.

“At a glance, these incidents seem completely random with no direct link to each of them. If that’s truly the case, they’d be nothing more than isolated incidents. However, we’re seeing similar cases crop up with similar things relating to them. Right now, the only large scale ones have to do with transportation of some sort.” 

Naoto gestured her hand towards him. He blinked once before handing her the folder. She paged through it briefly before spotting what she wanted. She pulled the piece of paper out, showing it to him.

“This was a bus accident that happened about a week ago. The driver apparently suffered a psychotic breakdown and crashed into a building and was killed instantly on impact. To anyone, it would seem to be an unfortunate accident. A key fact was that he was a driver for Toway Bus. This is a link to this recent subway case. Both had confessed to being more tired prior to their deaths due to the increased work hours from the Ministry of Transportation.

“I have to wonder if there’s not some sort of connection there…” Naoto closed her eyes quietly and merely thought. The problem in the end came down by the means of which they were doing it. No drugs lined up in their systems, so it couldn’t be blamed on that. Her mind was starting to jump to “it’s Shadows!” but she held her tongue. Old habits die hard. What would a shadow have to do with it if this was a calculated attack? 

Akechi had grown quiet himself, mulling over what Naoto had said. The room echoed their collective silence, beyond the occasional muffled ring of a telephone from another room. Just then, he straightened up.

“You are just as brilliant as they say, Shirogane-san!” Akechi beamed towards her, “That is quite the deduction. To be honest, I was starting to piece something similar myself. Here,” He held out his own hand for the folder and Naoto returned the folder. He paged through it with deft fingers. Finally, he pulled out another page; this one looking a bit more worn than its counterpart.

“About a year ago there was an incident involving the Minister. Unfortunately, most of it is dyed in rumor, but they say there was a change of hands of the internal structure of the Bus Service Division. However, it seems as though the Ministry isn’t interested in repairing many damaged public vehicles as long as they still function. These two victims were mentioned to have spoken out about the lack of repairs. It’s possible that someone may be targeting them from the inside…

“—Is what I _would_ say.” Akechi’s tone changed slightly. Naoto’s attention was captured instantly.

“However, the minister already put in his letter of resignation. Considering the information that was released, I suppose it was his own decision that he had decided to resign.”

From that point, it did make some sense. Someone trying to silence those who disagreed with their point of view could align with the minister and put him on the spot… but the fact he was resigning wouldn’t be in favor of their current idea for a motive. However, that didn’t mean someone _besides_ the minister wasn’t working under their own different motive. If there was a political reason behind it, she could see someone wanting him to stay in power by using it to their advantage. There were still a few options present in that moment.

However, there was still no explanation on why they became psychotic or what was the direct cause of people acquiring a mental shutdown. Unfortunately, Naoto wasn’t sure she would be getting any answer there. Neither of them were particularly deeply involved with the medical division, so they couldn’t exactly figure out a proper deduction on their cause in one filing room.

“That may be true, but I still don’t believe that answer absolves the possibility that another person might be involved. If it's not the minister himself pulling the strings, it might be some outside force.” Naoto decided to focus on that. Akechi waved a hand to the side of his face.

“That is true, however, it was your connection that finalized that one theory could be ruled out here. Knowing a link to the cases, however, is a great help. Not to mention, your knowledge about the Mass Lethargy Syndrome cases is indeed helpful.” He seemed genuine in his words. Naoto could only nod before her phone buzzed in her pocket.

“Excuse me.” She said as she pulled it out. All she had to do was glance at the lock screen to read the notification on it:

**FROM:** Rise

 **>** where r u??? hurry up or i’ll have senpai all 2 myself! ☆⌒(ゝ。∂)

“I’m sorry, Akechi-san, you’ll have to excuse me.” Naoto put the phone back into her pocket and got up from her chair. She hadn’t realized how late it had gotten until she had received that message. Akechi was surprised, but he made no real vocal fuss about it. He nodded once in understanding.

“I see. It was nice to meet you, Shirogane-san. If you’re ever in the neighborhood again, I wouldn’t mind grabbing a coffee with you and discussing things further. I know a few nice cafés close by.”

“Maybe some other time.” She grabbed her hat and placed it back on top of her blue hair snugly. Making sure it fit properly, she moved and grabbed her coffee as well. She reached down with her free hand towards the file, but Akechi spoke up first.

“Leave the file to me. I want to take a look at it for a bit longer. This conversation really sparked my motivation.”

“Thank you.” She bowed towards him in goodbye before turning on her heel. Somehow, she couldn’t help but feel as if something was off. Maybe she was just worried about missing her plans with her friends. 

As Naoto exited the office, she felt Akechi’s gaze bore into her backside. The intensity of it seemed almost unnatural. Despite his niceties beforehand, something she noticed made her skin crawl.

His smile never once reached his eyes.

***

Akira sneezed.

The rest of that day's events had been practically a whirlwind of things to keep track of. Once they had returned to the real world, they were met with pointed stares from the cops that had been patrolling that area. Ryuji had continued on about Kamoshida’s Palace, but they were merely met with distasteful stares and judging looks. No doubt to any normal person, they’d already be asking if Ryuji had any drugs on him. As soon as they had escaped near police custody and returned to school, it was only for the guidance counselor to meet them at the steps to the school. Alongside him had been the man of the hour himself; Kamoshida. 

Fortunately, Akira had only got off with a glare and a minor scolding from Kamoshida this time. He warned him about his probation, but to Akira it wasn’t anything new. “Behave” was practically the mantra bashed into his skull by this point. Everything he was doing currently was the more graceful way of saying, _“Fuck you”_ to the word. With that out of the way, he had arrived at the faculty office to a Kawakami who was tired of waiting for his late ass.

Even now he really couldn’t explain why they had ended up in the castle. This time he had triggered it on purpose, but now he wondered if that had just been that false god’s doing all along. Normally he’d just shrug it off and carry on, but with the weirdness surrounding things lately it was hard not to think about it.

Once another lecture was stamped on his proverbial bingo card of “How many times will Akira Kurusu receive a lecture?”, he had headed to class and given his introduction. Despite sharing a class with Ann, she didn’t seem all that interested in talking to him during class. Not that he was surprised; he had randomly grabbed her and shed a tear or two. Weird wouldn’t _begin_ to describe him. He caught her looking at him once or twice after class had convened, but she never walked in his direction.

After class, Ryuji had called him up to the rooftop to discuss the events of earlier that day. It was one of the most single-handedly frustrating things he had felt in a long time. Not because of Ryuji, mind, but the fact he couldn’t _say_ anything about this whole thing. Was there good a reason to keep all this quiet? Probably not, but considering they weren’t even close to their full potential who knows what could happen. The false god could just up and decide the game wasn’t interesting anymore and stamp them out again.

Akira had retained his strength, but considering he was trapped in that other space and destined to return and fail again and again, there had to be some rhyme or reason for it. Even Ryuji’s “Thanks, Ren” felt hollow. He had to just bide his time for now until he could meet with Morgana. At least the entire conversation wasn’t fruitless. He had properly met with Ryuji again, so that meant they could talk more.

The sun was already starting to dip into the horizon by the time Ryuji’s conversation had finished, painting the once silver buildings in an orange hue. He checked his phone for the time, clicking his tongue in thought. If he didn’t head back to Leblanc it’d no doubt spell trouble for him. All that was waiting for him once he got back was another lecture anyway. With that thought, he gave a silent prayer that Sojiro would find it in his heart to forgive him for being out just a little longer.

The address he had given Morgana was a bit more nondescript. _‘Shibuya Station; in front of Buchiko’_ . Setting up a meeting with a cat in front of a dog statue seemed a little in poor taste, but there was something else to it. The train from Aoyama-Itchome wasn’t too far away from the station square so Morgana wouldn’t, hopefully, take too long to arrive. Granted, he _was_ a cat in the real world. Maybe he had been a little too optimistic in picking today to meet up. Either way, he was going to take him somewhere else.

One thing Akira noticed about this place was the fact they really liked cramming ads for some place called Penguin Sniper. When he had perused some magazines in the station, just biding his time till the train arrived, they were mostly filled with ads for the place alongside a few other shops in Kichijoji. Normally, no one would ever focus on a detail as miniscule as an ad shoved in a corner of a nondescript magazine, but Akira guessed he didn’t fit the definition of “normal” anymore. Kichijoji wasn’t exactly a place that was _unheard_ of to him, but he never remembered it being this… _blatant_ before. It was like something in the universe was telling him that he would need to go there eventually. That or maybe he had just been reading the wrong magazines in the past.

It was about a 30 minute train ride to Kichijoji from Shibuya. In the past, not once did he really go out of his way towards Kichijoji before. The only time might have been to Inokashira Park, but never inside the shopping district itself. None of his friends went there either, that he knew of, so it would be a place to talk without someone accidentally overhearing them. It wasn’t a place like Harajuku that was filled with people and shops, and one place he knew Ann frequented, or Shinjuku where he knew many of his past confidants lingered there.

So here he sat among the bustling patrons within Shibuya’s station square just outside of its Scramble Crossing. The air was still humid from earlier showers that day, but for now it was just overcast. Despite the hustle and bustle of the people around him, it was nice to just have a moment to think to himself after the day's events. The sun had passed behind metal mountains and the glare of the monitors and street lights lit the city up in a blaze. 

He remembered feeling so small when he had first stepped into the city. The urban scrawl of Shibuya was nothing compared to his small hometown. If they actually managed to win this game, he’d no doubt return to those quiet days back home. It seemed almost too far off at this point; in fact it felt a little odd to even refer it to his _home_. He supposed these quiet moments actually let him reflect on his life. 

It really was unfitting of the image of a rebellious teenager, he guessed.

“Hey! Stop spacing out!”

A voice nearby did effectively snap him out of his musings. He blinked glancing around for a moment.

“Down here! Do I really need to spell it out for you when you called me here?” The voice gave an irritated sigh. Ah, right, he forgot he should be looking down not up. He looked down and found the voice’s owner. There was the black and white cat he expected, staring up at him with bright blue eyes. Just like before, he turned into a cat in reality. Good to see some things really hadn’t changed. Despite himself, Akira found a smile on his face.

“So you finally noticed me, huh? Geez, and after I went out of my way to come here too. I’ve still got some really important business back in that castle, you know, so this better not take long.” Morgana’s tail flicked to the side in annoyance. Despite his words, he still showed up. Morgana really could be a bleeding heart at times.

“Sorry,” He apologized. Morgana only flicked his ears before trying to shrug. Well, as best as a cat could.

“Whatever. I assume it must be important if you were crying for _my_ help.”

“About that… We have to go a little further from here before I can explain,” Akira admitted. Morgana’s fur bristled slightly.

“Further?! Hey, I just walked my paws off getting over here!” He complained. Akira was expecting that sort of reaction. He moved his bag out from under his feet, unzipping the top of it. Morgana looked at it suspiciously, glancing between it and him.

“So, you’re telling me to get in?” 

Akira nodded.

“Hey, I never agreed to getting carted around!” Morgana protested, “But… I guess it is faster if I hitch a ride with you… If that’s really what you wanna do, you better have some good information for me doing you this favor!” Reluctantly, the not-cat-that-looks-like-a-cat moved towards it. He gave it a small once over before crawling inside. Only once he was snugly secured, did he poke his head out.

“You know this isn’t too bad! Though, really, you shouldn’t keep so much stuff in here. It’s cramped…” Morgana grimaced slightly. Akira only gave him a tiny frown as an apology. He forgot not having Morgana gave him a lot more room to put stuff in his bag… he might have gotten a little carried away. Maybe he should buy a bigger bag. 

He lifted it slowly, pulling the straps over his shoulder to rest against his back. Morgana flipped his body around, placing his paws on the boy’s shoulders and peering out over him. His eyes practically sparkled from the lighting of the LED monitors.

“Hey, not a bad view. It certainly beats walking.”

With that, the two were off to the train once more. He had to look up exactly where he was going, but he was thankful that he had all that money from that cardboard box to another dimension. The journey there was only met with some muffled complaints from Morgana, fortunately. Akira had tried to be more mindful of how he moved with him now that they were semi-reunited. He had forgotten just how much Morgana weighed after all this time, but he couldn’t say it was unwelcome.

On the train ride he mulled over some things to himself. No doubt Morgana would question him about his origins if he came out right and said it… but truth be told, Akira didn’t _really_ know much about what Morgana _was_. Before their encounter with the Holy Grail, within the prison cells of Mementos, he mentioned about being “born” there. In the end, he had never found out the true answer and neither had the Morgana of his world. He was killed before he could, after all. 

All Akira knew was there was a confirmed link to Morgana, that quarantined room within the prison cells of Mementos, and possibly even that false god if Mementos was a factor. Still, it left him unsure about what to tell Morgana. If he confessed what he did know, he might just run off and investigate on his own. An idea wormed into his brain; a selfish whisper that made his hand grip the handrail a little tighter.

Just then the PA system rang to tell them that they had arrived. Akira walked out of the Kichijoji station, taking in the sight of it. It was a large district, looking not unlike Shinjuku on a weekday. Akira felt his inner tourist take hold for a brief moment, glancing around the area. He had done a little research into the place while biding his time for Morgana to show up. There supposedly was a café near that Penguin Sniper place. With that note, he began moving with a purpose. The crowds had died down a little at the least, though that was probably because most of the bars were clustered with adults getting off work within the alleyways of Kichijoji.

Finally, and truly finally, they had reached their destination. Akira ordered a coffee and requested a table near the back of the café. It wouldn’t look _as_ weird that he was talking to a cat if he was somewhere secluded. Quietly, he slipped the cashier a little more yen and gave her a quiet whisper of “Try not to disturb me for a while”. She seemed reluctant, but merely nodded and showed him the way. Actually, he was a little surprised that it worked.

The moment of truth was finally starting to arrive. Akira had mulled over the thousands of lines he could give to explain himself, but he was unsure just how Morgana would take everything. Morgana still didn’t have his memories (well, _less_ than everyone else). Not to mention that other option that kept crossing into that train of thought. No use worrying about it now. Akira set his bag down on the chair and moved to its neighbor across from it. Morgana poked his head out, letting out a little gasp of air.

“Whew, it gets hot in there! Hey, you should really air that thing out next time.” Morgana complained. Akira only gave a little nod in response. They quietly waited for his coffee to arrive with little exchange between them. The not-cat seemed a little put out, but he didn’t dwell on it long. Once the coffee had been delivered, then did Morgana pop out of the bag again. He always was the type to get down to business.

“So, what’s this stuff you wanted to talk to me about? I can tell you’re not a complete amateur if you’ve already got a persona that strong.” Morgana leaned a little out of the bag, staring up at him expectantly. He let his white paws hang outside of the open flap. Well, here went nothing.

“You’re the only one who knows about the Metaverse who I can trust. You don’t know me, but I know you.” Akira began slowly. Morgana’s ears flicked forward suddenly and he looked more alert than before. He knew that would catch his attention.

“There’s something a lot bigger than us going on. I can’t tell you everything and I’m sorry. Even right now, it's risky for me to be telling you this but… you know the Metaverse better than I do. That’s why I want us to team up and take down Kamoshida.”

“Huh?” Morgana blinked in surprise.

“You remember Ryuji, right? The guy who I came in with?”

“How could I forget that brainless thug?” Morgana grumbled at that thought.

“We’re planning to go back into that world tomorrow. We can’t leave Kamoshida alone if he has a Palace… not to mention all the stuff he’s doing in the real world is unforgivable.”

“Didn’t I tell you it’s dangerous?” Morgana frowned, “Besides, there’s way too many things wrong here! How do you know about Palaces? How come you know me and can’t tell me more?” His voice was raised, though Akira was sure someone would just hear a grumpy cat meowing. Akira frowned in thought, adjusting his glasses a little. He had to choose his words carefully.

“As I said before there’s a bigger thing at play here. I’m aware of how dangerous the Metaverse is. If we fail, Kamoshida could suffer a mental shutdown, right?” Akira kept his voice low, as if that would keep the false god’s ears from overhearing him. Morgana nodded in response.

“That’s right. If you screw up, you could end up killing him. It’s not something to take lightly.”

“I know.”

“Then start explaining all that other stuff!”

“I realize asking you to trust me on this is strange after we just... met.” _That_ was a stab to the gut, “But if I tell you outright, you won’t believe me.”

“The Metaverse’s existence isn’t exactly something normal you know. Try me.” His expression turned into a smug one. Well, as far as Akira could tell, what with him looking like a normal cat. His frown deepened a little. Maybe he should have just opened with it. Morgana began talking again before he could respond.

“Besides, you’ll have to earn my trust regardless of what you tell me. That Palace holds a key to something I’m looking for. If I help you guys out, you’ll be owing me a favor of looking into something else too.”

 _‘That would be Mementos,’_ Akira guessed.

“I know.”

“Either way, I may look small, but I’m wise in my years!” 

_‘Are those in cat years…?’_ Akira pondered to himself. He took a deep breath and sighed. There wasn’t much else he could do at this point. If he could at least get Morgana on his side, false gods be damned. 

So, he gave his confession. He unloaded all the things he had desperately wanted to say to Ryuji and Ann. For the sake of brevity, he did cut their exploits as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts short. He focused on the final deal with the false god, and then his own exploits in that mysterious place between worlds with the other him. He confessed he wasn’t from this world originally; that he was taking the place of the other him that was supposed to be here. Saying it all out loud like this… it really felt surreal. If he were hearing this, he almost wouldn’t believe it himself. Once he finished, he was glad that he ordered a coffee. Talking so much was really making his throat hurt. 

Once he had finished explaining their present day, Morgana continued to remain silent. His tail swished and his eyes were closed, absorbing all that Akira had told him. The only noise surrounded them was the bustle of other patrons and the cars passing by the outside of the café. Akira could feel himself growing a little impatient waiting for Morgana’s answer, but there was a lot of it to absorb. After all, none of it probably seemed real to him… but he wasn’t exactly a “normal” thing in this world either.

“So what you’re saying is, we’re up against a really tough opponent, huh?” Morgana finally spoke, opening his eyes to stare up at him. Akira only nodded. Morgana looked down at the floor for a second before looking back up at him.

“Well you weren’t kidding… that’s a _lot_ to believe. A god trying to control not only Shibuya, but the one behind the distortions going out of control and it’s using Mementos to do it…? Not to mention _your_ whole situation. Your persona _is_ abnormally strong. I’ve been doing this for a while and mine’s nowhere near yours...” Morgana seemed to be thinking things over aloud. “I don’t know how much of it I exactly _believe_ but… if any of this has a shred of truth, I don’t think I can overlook it.”

Akira found himself heaving a sigh of relief.

“However!” Morgana’s pause made Akira’s shoulders tense up, “If you know anything about who I am, then you’d better start talking. My memories are… well they’ve been distorted, you could say. Since you’re so desperate for my help, I’ll work with you on the condition you tell me more.”

Morgana’s words left Akira in a difficult spot. That earlier selfish thought crept back into his brain. If he told Morgana everything that he knew, it was possible that Morgana would leave here to investigate further. In this case, _he_ needed Morgana more than the other realized. Morgana was all on his own before he had joined up with the Phantom Thieves so it wasn’t like he couldn’t investigate on his own. The only roadblock would be delving deeper into the pits of Mementos; the Phantom Thieves had paved that path. If something happened to Morgana before that, he would never forgive himself.

He needed to play his cards right.

“When I said I knew you, that wasn’t entirely true.” Akira rubbed at the base of his neck. Morgana’s tail lifted in interest. Akira turned his head to the side, hoping the glare of his glasses might hide his gaze. Futaba’s words rang in his ears, _‘You must first trick your friends if you want to trick your enemies.’_

“I knew the Morgana in my world and he didn’t know about his past either. In the end, it wasn’t like we got to figure out much of anything. What I do know is that Mementos holds that key… and that I can’t do this without you.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it certainly wasn’t the truth either. There was silence between them at that. When he glanced back at him, his heart dropped to his stomach. Morgana looked perplexed.

“So that’s it, huh?” His voice had lost the bravado from earlier. The silence lingered in an awkward tone. Morgana finally looked up at him after what felt like ages, seeming calmer than he was previously.

“If you’re trying to take down Kamoshida I’m guessing that’s part of your plan to stop that god, right?” 

Akira nodded. Morgana paused again; this time keeping his thoughts to himself.

“I still don’t completely believe you about this whole other god business. However, I can’t deny you’re pretty strong and you’d help me out a lot in my own investigation. I already figured out Mementos was important, so it’s not like that’s any new information to me. That being the case, I can’t venture down further by myself right now.

“Let’s make ourselves a deal.” Morgana raised his chin and Akira blinked back at him. A deal?

“If the version of me in your world was anything like myself, he chose you for a reason. If I believe your story, that is. My point about trust still stands. I want to observe your power for now. I’ll help you with your business as long as you help me with mine, okay?” Morgana said with a nod to himself. Akira mulled it over. It certainly didn’t sound like a bad offer by any means. In the beginning, Morgana had been using them as a means to explore deeper into Mementos after all. This wasn’t particularly new information. With all that being said, it seemed like he at least was agreeing to work together for now.

“Alright.” Akira said with a light smile touching his lips. Morgana looked pleased with his response.

“Okay! Then I’ll be crashing at your place!” That caught Akira off guard. Morgana looked proud, but his smile faded once he saw Akira’s confused expression.

“What? You really expect me to walk over from the school every time I want to meet up? This will just make things easier!”

Akira twisted a piece of his bangs between his fingers. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure why he was surprised. He really should have expected that… Morgana really did move to the beat of his own drum. He figured Morgana would just head back to Kamoshida’s palace and they would meet up later. That’s what had happened last time. 

It was already growing late too. Showing up with Morgana wouldn’t be earning him any points with Sojiro either.

“What's wrong?” Morgana asked. Akira blinked back at him before giving him a half shrug. Sojiro didn’t seem to mind when he had brought Morgana back… Maybe he could get away with it again this time.

“It’s nothing. Glad to be working with you, Morgana.”

“Well, with that settled, show me to my new abode!” Morgana said a bit more cheerfully. Akira nodded with a faint smile, feeling a bit more rejuvenated. At least for now he had one of his friends back. He supposed it wasn’t completely back to normal, but he couldn’t help but feel happy about it. Once he finished his coffee, he picked up the bag and gently slung it over his shoulder. He felt Morgana wiggle around inside it for a moment before he made his way out of the café.

Just as he moved his hand towards the door, it opened. He blinked once and stepped to the side to give the other person space to enter. Once he looked past the door, however, his body went rigid. He could recognize that mop of brown hair with a brown coat to match anywhere.

It was Goro Akechi.

“Oh, pardon me.” Akechi said, not even sparing him a second glance as he walked inside. Akira found his eyes following after him in sheer surprise. Of all things, the last thing he expected was to find Akechi here. He stood there frozen, as he watched the brunet walk towards the counter. He couldn’t help himself, it was just too surreal. 

Last time he encountered him was in Shido’s palace. He had promised him to defeat Shido; to make him confess his crimes despite Akechi nearly trying to gut them moments prior. He shot the locking switch on the door, completely sealing the Phantom Thieves' chance at rescue and Akechi’s fate all in one fell swoop. Once they heard the gunshot, that was it. Futaba’s confirmation only added to the finality of their situation.

His focus was enraptured on him. It was odd to watch him move so casually with all that Akira knew about him. It made his body itch; like there was something below his skin he couldn’t scratch out. Akechi was once under Shido’s thumb and now he was back there again. He couldn’t deny he pitied Akechi, to be not only a pawn in a man’s scheme but the one giving out the executions, but Akechi would never allow him to think something like that. 

After everything he had done from blackmailing them just to satisfy his own ambitions, trying to frame the Phantom Thieves for Haru’s father’s death and all the psychotic breakdowns he himself had caused, and not to mention attempting to kill him, Akira couldn’t completely forgive him. Even now, he was too late to completely save Akechi from his fate of meeting Shido again.

His false faint smile towards him only amplified that feeling. The fact he knew what hid underneath Akechi’s mask only told him he would have to be even more cautious. Akechi had sought him out once before, probably only due to overhearing his conversation with Morgana, Ryuji and Ann on the field trip. This time around, he wondered if maybe there was a way to save Akechi; a way for him to own up to all his crimes instead of paying his crimes with blood.

“Hey!” Morgana’s voice snapped him back into reality, “What’re you standing around for? Let’s go.”

Pulling his bag up higher onto his shoulder, Akira walked through the doors, leaving Akechi and those thoughts behind him.

***

“Where the hell have you been?!” Sojiro’s booming voice practically shook the walls of the rundown cafe. They had arrived at Leblanc later than he had hoped to be back. It had to be about 10 pm by now, no doubt, otherwise he wouldn’t be getting this lecture. Well, he’d be getting one either way just not _this_ particular flavor of it.

“Do you even know what time it is? You’re damn lucky the last customer spent a long time sitting around in here. I even got a call from your school, you know.” Sojiro’s scowl was bound to be burned into his wrinkles by now, “I hear you ditched half a day of your first day at school.”

Akira chose to remain silent despite his onslaught. There really wasn’t any excuse that would make Sojiro less angry with him. All he could do was rub the back of his neck with a little nod. Sojiro didn’t lose any steam on continuing his lecture.

“Look, I don’t know what the hell you’ve been getting yourself into, but don’t drag me into it. You should really take my advice and behave yourself. One wrong step and your life is over. You do know what probation means, right?”

“I do.” Akira nodded.

“Good.” Before Sojiro’s lecture could continue, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He heaved a sigh before pulling it out. Akira could feel Morgana squirming around in his bag against his back.

“That guy’s sure scary, huh?” Akira heard him say, but Sojiro didn’t seem like he noticed. Akira just shoved his hands in his pockets, waiting for Sojiro’s lecture to continue. His thoughts were briefly on how he would explain himself if he asked about Morgana. Maybe he could try that whole Francois sob story Ann used...?

“Hey, what’s up? ...Yeah, I’m just closing up shop. I’ll head over in ten minutes, alright?” Sojiro paused, pressing a hand over his phone’s receiver to glare at Akira, “What’re you standing around for? Get upstairs and go to bed already.”

Akira nodded and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. He decided for now to just follow his order. He had already pissed off Sojiro enough tonight and he was already starting to feel exhausted. Without another sound Akira made his way upstairs, only faintly hearing Sojiro mention something about him being “only a part-timer”. Once he was upstairs, he slipped his bag off his arm and onto the white table near the staircase.

Morgana leapt out with more grace than he expected, stretching his legs all the way out in front of him.

“Ah… finally! Man, I was starting to feel cramped in there.” He practically purred. It was short lived, however, when he actually looked in his room.

“Ack! You live here?! Geez, I feel even more bad for you… It’s so dusty in here.” Morgana grimaced. Akira could only scratch at his head. He hadn’t had the chance to clean up even more. There wasn’t much else he could say about it though, Morgana had a point. With that thought, he decided to follow Sojiro’s advice and change into his pajamas. Once he was properly changed, he sat on the edge of his bed. He felt a wave of fatigue ambush him as soon as he touched the mattress. Morgana pounced up onto the other side of the bed, staring up at him with those big blue eyes of his.

“Hey...” Morgana began but paused for a moment. He seemed to be mulling over his words. No doubt, Morgana wanted to cheer him up. As he said before, he really was a bleeding heart. Akira smiled with a sigh and gently scratched at the other’s ears. Morgana was caught off guard for a moment before he relaxed into it. He already knew the best place Morgana liked to be scratched; right between his collar and his ears. After a second, Morgana realized he was being _too_ cat like and jumped to his feet.

“H-Hey, don’t think you can treat me like some cat!” He protested. Akira couldn’t hide the smirk on his face. Just then, however, Sojiro came waltzing up the stairs with that same scowl on his face.

“Hey, what are you—” He paused as soon as he saw Morgana on the bed. The cat pressed himself into the mattress, trying to look as small as possible. Unfortunately, Akira’s sheets were white; not good camouflage for a black cat. Sojiro let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head in almost defeat.

“I was wondering why I heard meowing from upstairs…” Sojiro’s glare was on Akira once again, “Is this why you were late? Why’d you bring it back here?” He was staring at him for answers, but Akira wasn’t sure where to begin. Time for those improv sessions he had learned from Ohya.

“He was abandoned.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, hoping Morgana would just roll with what he was saying, “I spent most of the evening looking for someone to take him in. Nobody would take him.”

“Nobody’d take it, huh…?” Sojiro closed his eyes and mumbled to himself. It seemed like Morgana’s “plight” had taken a direct hit to Sojiro’s heart. The older man hummed to himself, scratching at his beard.

“Look, this place is a restaurant. Animals are a no-go…” He paused, “Though I guess you might stay on good behavior if you’ve got a pet to take care of…” His “hmm”ing and “haa”ing seemed to be working out in Akira’s favor. It took him a few more moments of pondering before Sojiro finally relented.

“Fine…” He quickly turned back to his stern self, “But keep it quiet when we’re open for business. And don’t let it roam downstairs, or I’ll toss it out. Oh, and I’m not gonna take care of it. That’s all on you.” Akira gave a firm nod at that. Sojiro seemed satisfied with that answer before turning on his heel and returning downstairs. Morgana straightened himself back up, looking a little relieved.

“Was that the ruler of this place?” Morgana asked and he nodded again.

“He seemed pretty understanding for someone who keeps you cramped up in this dump.” Morgana said as he sat on his haunches, “Then again, I suppose to normal people I just sound like a meowing cat.” 

As if on cue, Sojiro returned with a plate of something that looked akin to leftover bits of whitefish. He set it down in front of Morgana, placing a hand on his hip with a little sigh.

“Seriously… It had to keep calling out in that cute little voice… Make sure you wash that dish.” His attention was back on Akira, giving him an almost sheepish, if Akira squinted, look, “By the way… have you decided on a name?”

“Morgana.” Akira said, adjusting his glasses.

“Morgana, huh… I was hoping I’d get to name it…” Sojiro’s disappointment was poorly hidden. With that, he disappeared for the final time of the night. Akira could hear the door clatter from downstairs, signaling Sojiro was finally heading home to Futaba. No doubt he knew she was probably listening in on their conversation here. Morgana looked up at Akira with a tiny swish of his tail.

“Looks like the chief likes me better than you.” He seemed oddly happy about that. Akira rolled his eyes.

“And to be honest, this place is like heaven compared to Kamoshida’s cells… and come to think of it, I didn’t get hungry in that other world.” Without another word, Morgana began going to town on the plate. Akira stretched his arms out over his head while Morgana was busy, pulling his phone out of his pocket. It looked like it was already starting to get to 11 'o clock by now. He was feeling his eyelids growing heavier the longer he was sitting up. He might just have to worry about Morgana’s dish tomorrow, but Sojiro wouldn’t let him hear the end of it if he didn’t. Still, there was a lot to dwell on. Entering Kamoshida’s Palace again was leaving him pretty mentally drained.

With a tiny sigh, he pulled his glasses off his face and stared at them. They seemed dinged up, but overall in decent condition. He wondered if even these glasses had followed him back from his timeline. A doomed one, where the false god had won and it was his fault. He closed the end pieces together before setting them down gently on the window sill.

“Hey.” Morgana’s voice peeled him away from his thoughts. He had finished eating and was staring right at him. Oh, he was done faster than he thought. Akira got to his feet at that, grabbing the plate slowly with a tiny yawn. Morgana got to his paws still looking at him. He hesitated again, like he wanted to say something but the words weren’t coming to him. Akira only gave him a tiny smile of reassurance and moved downstairs to wash the dish.

“I may not understand but… it seems like you’ve been through a lot.” Morgana finally found his voice once Akira made it to the top of the staircase. It made him pause, turning around to look over his shoulder at him. Morgana’s eyes were focused towards him with his ears drooped slightly. Akira only stared, blinking at him once.

“Just… I understand a little where you’re coming from. If you’re really not from this world, then you’re probably feeling a bit lost right now.” Morgana looked away, “Anyway, you should get some sleep once you’re done. We can talk more about it tomorrow.” Morgana hastily finished his sentence turning around. He laid down and curled up with his back facing him, wrapping his long tail around his body. Akira felt a cold stab of steel to his gut with his words. He was still lying to Morgana about what he knew of his origins, but here he was comforting _him_? It felt pathetic.

It really was typical Morgana, in the end. He couldn’t really be honest about his feelings, even now. Still, his words comforted him despite the ugly feeling in his heart. It had felt so long since someone had acknowledged him like this. Morgana didn’t completely trust him yet, but at least he had heard him out. With the mess of a situation he had been stuck in, it was nice to have some sense of familiarity again. It was still tough during these early stages with how fragmented he was from all his friends. 

He hadn’t even gotten a glimpse of Makoto or Haru walking around the halls at school yet. He wondered if Yusuke had enough money for his train fare… but then remembered he was staying with his teacher, Madarame, right about now. Futaba was listening in on him, but that didn’t mean she was okay with all the things about her mother still haunting her.

Part of him worried if they were alright. Mishima was still in his class, just like last time, and Kawakami his homeroom teacher so there wasn’t any difference there. He wasn’t sure about the rest of the people he met. Ohya, Iwai, Hifumi, Chihaya, Takemi, Shinya, and Yoshida were all unknowns to him right now. Whether they were still in this world was to be seen, if there were already changes to his own name or that diary nonsense. All that was left to focus on now, he supposed, was taking Kamoshida down another peg.

As he went downstairs to wash the dish, he noticed Sojiro had forgotten to turn off the television in the café before he left. The guy must have been in a rush to see Futaba if he did something like that. Akira moved to the door and gave it a tiny jerk, confirming he had at least locked it before he left. In the end, Akira decided to let the TV play as he focused on his cleaning. He turned the handle of the sink slowly. It let out a tiny squeak in response as warm water pooled into the basin from the spout. As he began to focus on his work, the sound of television buzzed in his ears. It sounded like the newscasters were talking about local news.

“The high school gymnastics competitions are in full swing this year. I’ve heard that the competition is even fiercer this year. With a new stadium being built in Odaiba, everyone’s eager to make the finals in order for a chance to compete in the gymnastics internationals once the stadium has finished construction!”

 _‘Stadium?’_ Akira’s eyebrows furrowed together. Did he hear that right? When were they building a stadium in Odaiba?

“That’s right, Amano. I even heard that Shujin Academy has one of the famous Yoshizawa twins in their line up this year. They took the world by storm last year with their partner performances in their gymnastics routines. I heard even their coach had high expectations for them, but with the other sibling gone, it’s a lot for one to live up to.”

Yoshizawa…?

“Oh, I heard about that. It was unfortunate what happened to the Yoshizawa family… In fact, the accident was only a month ago… I’m impressed her sister still wants to compete after the wound is still fresh.”

“Yes, I heard it was just traumatic… Losing a sibling is absolutely devastating. However, it seems modern medicine does wonders! Thanks to many therapy sessions, she spoke with us that she will still be competing this year on behalf of her sister!”

“Well, this year is expected to be one to look forward to! And with that, we’ll be back after these messages. Speaking of Shujin Academy, next up we have an inside look at Shujin Academy’s famous volleyball team coached by Olympic Medalist Suguru Kamoshida! Please stay tuned for more information about the sports events coming up this month!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Rise Kujikawa here! ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ I hope everyone's excited for my upcoming single, but I thought I'd take the time to remind you all of something very important♡! It's housekeeping day, so remember: wash all those dishes in the damn sink ! .*.:彡☆_


	4. IV. Three of Cups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t usually do music suggestions, but a theme I have in mind for the other world train is [Rukunetsu’s 2nd Center from Shin Megami Tensei 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsHiBLLqdlM). Fits the vibe I wanna go for. [3D Center from SMT 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fgXwmPK9-I) works just as well, though it’s a little less modernized.

Gunfire echoed inside the chamber. The sound ricocheted off the walls of the space, filling the room with the smell of smoke. It was loud against his ears, but Ren had grown used to it by now. Too many times had he gotten the drop on some enemies and unloaded mental lead into them. His arm had grown used to the recoil of his handgun by now too. He lifted the weapon with a sharp click, hearing another click from the slide as it shifted back in place. Once the smoke cleared, Ren straightened up, holding it in his left hand with the muzzle skyward. The area looked clear besides the few overturned chairs and tables as casualties.

To his left, Papillon pulled in his arms, holding his own pistol, and made a tiny step backwards. Ren recognized the gun’s model before when he worked with Iwai in Untouchable. A Steyr M9 from his brief look at it. It was a stout, rectangular gun that fit easily inside the inner part of his suit. With that thought the man sheathed it, placing it neatly inside his suit jacket. No one would ever guess he was packing heat just with a glance towards him. With a look towards Ren, the two nodded in sync as a sign to move. Ren took the lead, packing away his own gun before lowering his body slightly. He then thrust out his right arm in front of him. 

A length of cable burst out from his wrist, launching itself onto one of the higher metal frames hanging above them. The metal piece fitted at the end of the wire split apart into thin metal rods and grabbed the edge of the banister. Ren’s arm lurched forward as the inertia of the grappling hook stopped. He tugged slightly at the cable to make sure it was properly secured. He twisted his wrist to undo the mechanism the cable was connected to just so and, soon enough, he was shooting through the air. He moved as if he were lightning, passing over the abandoned seats of the train car. 

With a graceful mid-air flip, he landed leaving a solid clatter of metal on top of the railing in his wake. It looked like an oversized luggage rack if he was being honest. Well, it certainly made sense. They were still on a train; if that was what he was to believe.

Below him, Papillon followed at a slower pace. He was moving much more carefully and cautiously, using the cover of furniture as a means of staying hidden. Ren would just take the high road for now. Once he was sure the other man was moving, he pulled his wrist up and the cable shot back to its home snugly against his wrist. He darted forward without another thought. 

As he moved, his thoughts were back to their previous exploits. After leaving the “safe car”, it was easier to call it that for now, they had moved into something much more grandiose. The cars beyond that one had much bigger and longer layouts than Ren would have imagined. 

Instead of the homely feel of the Yongen-Jaya line, he was met with old fashioned box seats lining the rows of the train. It felt like he had stepped inside an entirely different train if he was being honest. Wood coated the floors and lined the rubber upholstery of the chairs themselves. This was the predicament they found themselves in. Whenever they would enter a new car, the layout would change alongside the decor. Not to mention, the cars were getting _bigger_. Not only in width, but length as well. It was almost like a hallway simulator of sorts. 

It was starting to feel like they were on a freight train rather than a subway. Another interesting thing Ren noted was the fact many of these cars looked like places he had been before. He would notice a Kamoshida statue here and there, maybe even a floating canister from Okumura’s palace. They didn’t exactly mesh with their surroundings either. Many of them jutted out in odd parts of the walls or simply looked like they had been stuck to the floor by something. Either way, it was one downright strange train.

Morgana would be no doubt jealous if he saw this. The idea of thieves hijacking a train was one of the more cliche ones, but it certainly fit Morgana’s idea of phantom thievery. Or maybe that was a murder mystery? Akechi could be jealous of him then. It would serve that asshole right. If he ever managed to get out of this place, he could give him a pop in the teeth for good measure. 

It wasn’t long before Ren reached his goal; a switch box stationed on the left side of the railing. Each of these train cars seemed to have some gimmick attached to them; whether it be an all out brawl or just some annoying puzzle to solve. The rhyme or reason of it all was lost upon him, but there wasn’t much use in griping about it. These things never made themselves easy. Just as he closed in, he heard the cry of the shadows below him. 

Ren glanced over his shoulder, staring down at the train’s main floor. Below was Papillon, standing there with three of them blocking his path. His posture remained straight, not even flinching in the face of their numbers. There was a brief thought in the back of his mind if he would be alright on his own, but Ren ignored it in favor of staring at the switch box. He backed up only one step before raising his foot and jamming it into the metal container. He felt the crumple of metal beneath his boot, electricity sparking out from any open crevice.

The sound of battle blocked out the squeal of machinery dying. He looked over towards the end of the car. He could see the locking mechanism click and whir before it sputtered out a dying breath. The lights darkened and he took that as a sign of mission accomplished. Ren turned his attention back towards the battle. Papillon moved with a grace that fit his codename aptly. He swerved by claws launched towards his face. He spun past Ziodynes and Bufudynes as though they were partners in a foxtrot routine. He made Ren look like less of a show off.

Ren’s lips quirked into a smile. Well, better join the fray.

He grabbed the edge of the banister and pushed himself off of it. From there his arm thrust out again, letting his grappling hook soar across the top of the train car’s roof. It latched onto the matching banister from the other side of the car. From there Ren jumped and soared, swerving himself towards the group of shadows with precise aim. With his free hand he drew his gun, staring down the sights at his targets. The shadows only now seemed to realize he was swinging towards them, since their gazes abandoned their current battler.

“You’re done.” 

With that, he fired. The recoil rattled along his arm, but his aim was steady. He fired two more shots in succession. He managed a head shot on all three shadows. Their bodies crumpled, shock remaining on all their faces each lodged with a small hole in their skulls. They quickly dissipated into the air as if they had never been there before. Ren landed hard, feeling the impact of the ground shake his knees. He pulled his wrist back and the cable whipped its way back towards his sleeve. He straightened up, looking towards the man in the white suit with that smirk plastered on his face.

“We can’t keep meeting up like this.” Ren said. Papillon merely shrugged a shoulder of indifference. Ren cocked his gun once again, sliding out the magazine to investigate it. Even though the gun refilled itself in the Metaverse after each encounter, it never hurt to make sure he knew what he was packing. Once he was satisfied, he turned his attention back towards his “teammate” while popping it back in place with the butt of his palm.

Despite this guy carrying around a gun, he never once actually fired a shot beyond a warning one. Ren had never seen him draw a weapon besides that very same gun. Part of him wondered if he had any melee weapon to speak of. Ren always had to finish off the shadows by himself. Fortunately, he wasn’t completely useless in a fight. He usually drew the enemy’s fire for… whatever reason. That stark white suit was most likely the culprit; it did make for quite an attention grab. He also worked as a pseudo navigator. While Ren would have preferred Futaba, or even Morgana, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“How come you never fight? You’re always packing heat. You could use it for something _other_ than self defense.” Ren decided to ask as they began to move. There didn’t seem to be any more shadows for now. Papillon moved in step beside him, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

“I am merely an observer on this plane. It is not my role to interfere with the role of the wild card.”

“Ah, so you’re a _pacifist_.”

“If that is how you want to view it, be my guest.”

With that last thought they reached the light at the end of the tunnel; specifically, the door at the end of the train car. Before Ren was about to move, Papillon held out a gloved hand in front of him. Ren paused, staring up at him with a confused look. His eyes were fixated on the door, but Ren couldn’t read his expression. He looked back at the door itself. It seemed ordinary enough, looking like any old subway car door. He would admit it looked out of place compared to the car they were in.

After another minute, Papillon lowered his hand. He turned his attention towards him with a serious expression.

“I believe we are reaching a crux soon.”

“Crux?” Ren repeated.

“We’re still nowhere near the engine room.” Papillon stated, “The train has grown since I came here last.” He seemed almost puzzled for a moment. and Ren felt his shoulders sink at that. They hadn’t been through very many cars, this was true, but how damn long was this thing? No way any Shibuya trains were this long… Hell, not even a bullet train was probably the size of this place. He already knew this was a space between worlds, but even those had to have some limit right?

“You mean there’s still more of this damn thing to go?”

“Unfortunately…” He seemed to be musing over something, but Ren didn’t feel like waiting anymore. He walked past him and the door slid open automatically in front of him. He stepped through and the Yongen-Jaya line scenery returned. Ren let out a sigh of relief. It was a tiny respite in the bleak situation they were in. 

He had started labeling these “safe cars” since it didn’t look like Shadows would attack them here. They never appeared, in any case. Once Papillon stepped through, the windows dyed the room in a deep blue color. The eerie red light outside changed to match the brilliant blue hue. If you could call a blank wall of solid color _light_. He stood at the other end as the door slid closed behind him.

Ren ventured further in, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs for a moment of rest. He let out a long sigh, stretching his legs out all the way across the hallway. Man, if only he could get away with something like this back in the real world. 

Silence crossed between them, only having the sound of wheels grinding on rails to comfort them. Ren tugged on one of his gloves in idle thought. So, what had they even learned being in here? This place just screamed of a Palace in its similarities.

He figured that Papillon was this train’s conductor, but the more they moved on, the more it seemed like that wasn’t quite the case. The false god, Yaldabaoth he recalled from one of those futures shown on the monitors, was using this place to his advantage. What did that mean exactly, though? He knew that he and Joker 2 were caught in a constant timeline loop, despite being separate in their choices. There was no doubt there were more versions of them floating out there somewhere, but for some reason he had singled out both of them. It wasn’t that hard to assume it was because they had each lost to him, but it couldn’t be _that_ simple could it?

“Hey.” Ren looked towards Papillon. The man was focusing on one of the static filled monitors, attention away from him. He turned his head at the sound of the other’s voice with a tilt of his head.

“I know you’re an observer and all that, but can’t you tell me a little more about this place?” His red eyes narrowed at him with an expectant gaze. All this running around left him empty handed, but this guy surely knew more than him. One annoying thing he had learned about Velvet Room-like people was that they were more tight lipped about their existences. This guy had more in common with a safe outfitted with twenty locks. If he knew the train was getting bigger, there had to be a connection there.

The man kept silent for a while, cupping his chin with a gloved hand. He looked contemplative, like he didn’t want to answer his question at all, but was trying to weasel out of it. As much as it would tick him off, if this guy was sticking to his principles, he supposed there wasn’t much use in trying to pull his teeth out.

“Have you heard the turn of phrase, ‘lost your train of thought’?” He asked. Ren blinked once before giving a little nod.

“That phrase isn’t quite unlike this place. Mementos was, as you put it, ‘everyone’s Palace’. It dwells somewhere along the border of the sea of the collective unconsciousness. Think of this place like a train traveling across that same sea as well, just barely kept afloat by the rails it passes over. It’s very existence is threatened to be swallowed by the sea from a sharp turn, but it continues on its path without ever reversing.” His eyes turned towards the windows. Ren’s gaze lagged just behind his. It was hard to tell if they were actually moving anywhere, but the rumbling of the car was more than enough to signal they were. The blank slate of blue painted both of them in its hue, trapping their gaze like hypnosis.

“It is like a culmination of your journey. All those thoughts you felt at one point converged into this train as a physical manifestation. Despite your failure in your timeline to stop Yaldabaoth, those thoughts continued their way here and found refuge in this space. Perhaps that is why it’s growing bigger. If the black Joker is progressing, this place, too, will expand further.” He seemed unsure when he spoke about the “growth” part. So, there were even things this guy didn’t know. Ren tilted his head up and rested his chin on a closed fist as he set his elbow on top of his thigh.

“So, this place’s existence is my fault?” Ren said slowly, piecing it together in his mind. At that, Papillon shook his head.

“No… Someone else created this place. They are taking advantage of your thoughts in order to give it shape.”

“Yaldabaoth?”

“No.”

That spurned the tall man to minutes upon minutes of silence. Papillon didn’t seem like he was going to say anything else. Ren paused to mull over the information in his head. So that lined up with the false god using this place as a sort of holding ground… but if it wasn’t created by him, but was still related to both he and Joker 2, who had? Actually, now that he thought about it...

“Wait, did you just say ‘the black Joker’?” Ren gave him an incredulous look. Their eyes met and the man continued staring back at them. He didn’t seem at all fazed by what he had said. This was, however, when he decided to speak again.

“Yes. In most modern card decks, there are two Joker cards. There are, also, two colors for the suits within that very same deck; red and black. You are labeled the red Joker while the other is the black.”

“You really just named us after colors?”

“I don’t see what’s so shocking about that. Your codename _is_ derived from the card itself.”

Honestly, Ren was just pissed off he came up with a better name than _Joker 2_.

“Let’s get moving. We’ve rested long enough.” Papillon was already walking once he had uttered the words. Ren felt a little more mentally refreshed from their break, despite the gears twisting in his brain to sort out their situation. Oh well. He’d have to pull a Ryuji and put it on the backburner for now. 

Ren got to his feet as the monitors crackled to life. A familiar scene of the Velvet Room reappeared again on its screen. He paused, finding his eyes drifting towards it. The false Igor was speaking to, he guessed, the black Joker. Man, even saying _that_ was a mouthful. They were discussing his reawakened power, it sounded like. The word “rehabilitation” hung on the air like the humidity in the summer. _Rehabilitation_ , his ass. Even if the false god wasn’t the one behind this mess, there was no way that guy was getting off scot free.

Ren turned away and followed after his acquaintance. Once Ren moved to his side, only then did the automatic door slide open. From there, a black and red wall oozed in a swirl of the two colors. No one could tell what would be on the other side unless they went through it. Ren sucked in a breath before he passed through the threshold. It tingled against his skin. As soon as he stepped through, his eyes widened.

This train car was completely different from all the others. This one had a large atrium smack dab in the center of it. Harsh red light pooled in from the open skylight, filling it to the brim like an overfilled cup of wine. The decor was different from the subway car they had just exited from. It almost looked similar to an opera house, walls coated with cherry wood paneling and red carpet lining the floor. The middle of the atrium had a grand set of staircases leading up to another floor with what looked to be some sort of viewing deck. The middle of the area was encased in white marble flooring, shining in the bloody hue. 

Oddly enough, a few red flower petals drifted from seemingly nowhere. As he stared, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Kamoshida’s Palace. While he stood there observing the scenery, Papillon had arrived through the portal just behind him. The tall man glanced around once before walking a few steps in front of Ren.

“Be on guard,” was all he said. Ren nodded, stepping forward himself. The atmosphere was completely different than the other cars they had passed through to get here. Ren couldn’t place it, but it was right there on the tip of his tongue. As they moved towards the center of the atrium, he sensed something moving ahead of them. All at once, there was the sound of a shotgun firing.

Ren moved quickly, performing a back handspring to barely dodge the shotgun shell aimed at his feet. Once he was upright again, his head jerked skywards. Standing there at the edge of the railing of the second floor was their assailant. He could see the trails of smoke pooling out from the fired shotgun. Not only that, but the figure itself seemed to be emitting a thick black haze from their body.

The figure was raising their gun again, most likely looking to fire off one more round. Ren reacted. He pulled his handgun from his coat, locking his eyes down its sights. With precise aim, he fired. The bullet ricocheted off the shotgun’s muzzle, but the force of impact was strong enough for it to be blasted out of the figure’s hand. It flew back towards the back of the car and the figure recoiled. Papillon was only a few feet away from him, but he was already reaching for his own gun. 

_‘Like that’s gonna do any good,’_ Ren commented to himself. The figure seemed to recover, staggering only slightly. Once it righted itself, it stared down at them from its position atop the staircase banister.

Ren squinted, but considering the thing was covered in a thick shadow he couldn’t quite make out what it was. Whoever it was, they certainly had a bone to pick with them. If it wasn’t a shotgun shell, he might have thought Akechi heard his wish to give him a good slugging. Perhaps it was just another shadow? Shadows didn’t exactly have _guns_ though. 

Just then, the figure planted a boot on the railing. Ren and Papillon watched it carefully, each gripping their guns a little tighter. It wasn’t long before the thing leapt off of it, landing right in front of the two of them with a loud crash. Despite the loud noise, the marbled floor below them didn’t crack.

The figure hunched over as it rose to its feet. Ren pointed his gun forward, finger barely brushing the trigger in case the thing tried anything funny. However, once he looked closer a pang of dread shot through him. He recognized those clothes, even if they were dyed in shadow. The shoulderpads, the red ascot that tugged at his neck, even his hunched over posture was all too familiar. Ren found his grip loosen a tad. His teeth grit together as the figure lifted its head fully. Unlike the brown eyes shining with determination Ren was used to, his were a piercing empty gold.

It was Ryuji.

“...Aw shit.” Ren cursed.

***

“ _Awww shiiiiiiiiit!_ ”

Ryuji’s scream in Akira’s ear made him flinch. He acted without thinking, practically tackling Ryuji out of the way of an oncoming Agi spell. The fire crackled and the Jack-o'-Lantern who tossed it cackled madly. Morgana swooped in, pulling the string of his slingshot taunt. He launched the pellet with blinding speed, nailing it smack dab into the shadow’s pumpkin head. It recoiled back and burst into thick black smoke before fading away, its laughter following it into the beyond.

Akira and Ryuji lay there on the cold stone flooring of Kamoshida’s Palace. Akira had landed on top of Ryuji as the other sat upright with a dazed expression. Morgana looked back towards them once the threat was gone, glaring daggers at Ryuji.

“What did I tell you about staying back?!” He yelled, fur practically standing on end.

“How was I supposed t’ know it’d come after me?! You’re the guys with the huge persona things!” Ryuji argued back. Akira could only let out a sigh of relief. If he could argue with Morgana, Ryuji wasn’t hurt at least. He pulled away from his friend, getting to his feet once again. Ryuji stood up quickly, too, brushing off his blazer with the back of his hand.

“You’re such an amateur! You’re lucky this guy pulled your ass out of the fire when he did.” Morgana chided him, folding his paws across his chest. Ryuji gave a look of discontent, kicking his shoe against the stone floor with a pout. He didn’t look like he had much bark to fight back against Morgana. Akira simply put his hands in his pockets. Morgana rolled his large eyes before turning around.

“C’mon, we’re almost to where those slaves are.” He gestured towards the rows of cells in front of them. Ryuji blinked once before giving a nod towards Akira. Akira nodded back before taking the head of their ragtag group. Just like before, he had met up with Ryuji after school that day. While he had come to school with Morgana in tow, he had asked the not-a-cat to look into the Palace while the school day went on. That way at least when Ryuji met up with Morgana later it looked less suspicious. As far as he knew, Ryuji didn’t know— _or suspect_ —he and Morgana were working together.

Ryuji wasn’t the type of person to leave anyone in danger alone. That had spurred them to enter further into the castle like the first time they had come here. Akira already knew those who were kept hostage here weren’t really the volleyball team members… just cognitive versions that Kamoshida’s psyche had thought up. Anything that happened to those versions of those people wouldn’t be affected in the real world. Still, just telling Ryuji would complicate things. The false god probably already knew about his slow-cooking scheme with Morgana, but so far he had yet to make any real hints he knew anything more. It was best not to risk it.

Soon enough they entered a familiar row of cells they had seen while trying to escape before. As Ryuji looked over them frantically, Morgana was moving to his side.

“Are you sure you’re working together with that guy? He doesn’t seem to know anything about this place,” he asked, eyeing him a little suspiciously. Akira’s eyes were fixated on his bottle-blonde friend instead of Morgana’s piercing stare. Ryuji was mumbling something about, “They’re not here…” from the sound of it. Before long, he said it louder.

“Dammit… They were here before! Where’d they go!?” Ryuji’s voice nearly shook the walls of the dimly lit dungeon.

“Quiet down!” Morgana hissed. Just then, Ryuji’s eyes lit up.

“Oh yeah, there were more of ‘em further in too…!” Before either of them could say a word, Ryuji was taking off down the hall. He had completely ignored any advice labeled “be quiet”. Morgana let out an irritated sigh.

“They were probably transferred already…” Morgana muttered Akira could only nod to himself, vaguely recalling how this was going to play out. If he was right, there should be—the shiver that ran up his spine confirmed it for him. The shadows were coming. It wasn’t long before they heard the dull clatter of armored footsteps approaching from the other side.

“Crap, that’s a lotta footsteps!” Ryuji hissed from ahead of them.

“It’d be a problem if we were discovered now.” Morgana glanced to the side, “Hey, let’s head into that room. We should be able to hide until they leave.” Akira’s eyes turned upwards. Sure enough, there was a door just to their left. The edges around it were blurry, as if it were trying to prevent itself from blending within the wall entirely. The shape of it seemed to warp with every passing glance, but it was their saving grace in a pinch.

Ah, the timeless and faithful safe room. Always an unbiased ally for the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Without another word, the three quickly stepped inside its doors. Akira closed the door behind them, huddling against the doorframe as Ryuji and Morgana hurried to the table on the inside. Once they had caught their breath, Morgana bounced onto the top of the table.

“The Shadows probably won’t come in here.”

“How can you tell…?” Ryuji asked with a gasp. He was still trying to catch his own breath; no doubt his heart was racing from their close encounter earlier.

“There’s a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler’s control over this area is weak.” Morgana explained. Almost as if on cue with Morgana’s words, the room itself warped and bended for a moment. It barely showed an image of their classroom before it faded back into its dank cellar appearance. Ryuji looked around in surprise.

“Is this a classroom?” He asked no one in particular.

“Now do you understand?” Morgana tilted his head, “This place is another reality that the ruler’s heart projects.”

“This is Kamoshida’s reality? Shit makes no sense at all!” Ryuji grumbled and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Did you not explain anything to this guy?” Morgana shot Akira a look. To his embarrassment, Akira continued staring at the door instead. He hadn’t realized him mentioning “coming back in here with Ryuji” would automatically mean that Morgana would think he told him everything about the Palaces. He would have to have a little talk with Morgana once they were out of here. Ryuji exchanged a confused glance between the two of them.

“Explain what?” Ryuji asked with a skeptical look. Morgana merely groaned.

“Fine… Guess I’ll have to be the one to fill you in.” He turned his attention back towards Ryuji, “You could say it’s a world in which one’s distorted desires have materialized. We call such places, ‘Palaces’.”

“A Palace?” Ryuji repeated. Morgana nodded.

“This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle.”

“So, it became like this ‘cause he just thought of it like that?!” Ryuji let out a weak laugh at that before he ground his teeth together, “That son of a bitch!”

“You must really hate this Kamoshida guy.” Morgana commented, crossing his arms together. Akira could only clench his jaw in agreement. For Ryuji and Kamoshida, it wasn’t so simple to call it merely hate. It was well deserved loathing if anything.

“Hate doesn’t even cover how I feel.” Ryuji’s scowl intensified, “Everything is that asshole’s fault!” 

The words lingered on the air and weighed the already oppressive atmosphere down beyond sea level. Akira felt those very words reverberate in his chest. It was odd to know more about Ryuji’s situation than even _Ryuji_ knew about his own. _Everything_ described it all and yet nothing at the same time. It didn’t cover the other layers of grime hidden by Kamoshida’s polished record. Shiho’s suicide attempt, Kamoshida’s abuse of Mishima leading to him leaking Akira’s criminal record to the student body, and even using Shiho’s starter position as leverage to force Ann into sleeping with him were all left unsaid in that moment. The only one who knew everything was Akira; and only him.

“I don’t know what happened between you two, but don’t let your emotions get the better of you. His lackeys are everywhere inside.” Morgana said with a twinge of sympathy hidden underneath his words. It certainly snapped Akira’s attention back towards the door. The guards were still milling around. He listened a bit closer to their conversation. It seemed like they were talking about the “slaves”. The words “training hall” were all he could make out beyond that; the sound was too muffled thanks to the safe room’s distortion. _Right_ , he remembered that place. The “training” Kamoshida was putting them through perfectly imitated what he wished he could do to them in the real world, if he could get away with such feats of horror.

“Hey, what’s up with that guy’s outfit then?” Ryuji jabbed a thumb towards Akira, distracting him yet again from the guard’s conversation. Morgana gave him a knowing look.

“That’s also because of this world.”

“More stuff that makes no sense,” sighed Ryuji.

“Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases within his Palace. A school can turn into a castle like this, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. His appearance is a manifestation of that. It’s the image of rebellion that he holds within.”

When Morgana put it like that, Akira really had to wonder about all his other friend’s outfits. If he was really thinking about it, some of them hit the mark more than expected. Though that did leave the matter of Yusuke’s...

“Really?” Ryuji almost scoffed, interrupting Akira’s thoughts, “Uuugh, I’m so fed up with all this! Y’know what? Forget the clothes! I’m more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways?!” That had Morgana’s immediate attention. He straightened up slightly, as if he would look bigger by doing so.

“I’m a human—an honest-to-god human!” Morgana shouted.

“No, you’re obviously more like a cat!” Ryuji interjected. Akira was partial to agree even now. Morgana nearly flinched, but caught himself.

“This is, well… It’s because I lost my true form… I think.” He added that last bit quietly, but Ryuji picked up on it.

“You think?” Ryuji stared at him hard.

“But I do know how to regain my true form.” Morgan’s energy was quick to return, planting his paws proudly on his hips, “The reason I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means.” It made sense to Akira. It would have confirmed Mementos was connected to this Palace, which held the key to Morgana’s memories. 

“Well, I ended up getting caught though...” Morgana’s ears flattened at that thought, “Besides, I’ve been tortured by Kamoshida too! I’m gonna make him pay for sure!” The flash in Morgana’s eyes was enough to write its own story. It was hard to imagine Kamoshida wracking up “beating up cats” on his list of crimes. Actually, if he thought about it longer, it wasn’t all that hard to believe.

“What is this, a comic book? This is seriously crazy…” Ryuji let out another sigh. Just then Akira heard the guards dispersing. Their footsteps faded away softly until he could no longer hear the clamor of armor.

“They’re gone. We should move.” Akira said his first words of their infiltration, shocking both Ryuji and Morgana. He got to his feet, but Ryuji was quickly at his side.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna force it all on you. I thought it might help so…” Ryuji reached into his bag. He rummaged around for a few moments before he pulled out something. Akira looked down in intrigue before he realized what it was. It was a silver handgun, a Tkachev to be exact; albeit a _model_ of a Tkachev. No way any of them would ever have a real one (besides maybe Makoto if she graduated the Police Academy).

“I brought this just in case! It’s a model gun though, so it only makes sounds!” Despite saying so, Ryuji seemed proud of himself for his quick thinking.

“That’s a toy!” Morgana cut in.

“But it looks totally real, so it’ll at least fake ‘em out.” Ryuji countered, “I brought some medicine too. You know what they say: ‘Providin’ is pre… something.’ Huh? _Huh?_ ” Ryuji looked at Akira expectantly, like a puppy expecting praise for bringing back a stick. Akira couldn’t help but sigh to himself. He couldn’t even really be all that mad about it. Damn that lovable Ryuji...

“If you were planning on this from the start, you could’ve said so sooner…” Morgana mumbled to himself, before he raised his voice towards them, “If you’re ready to go, let’s continue our investigation.”

“Thanks, Ryuji.” Akira smiled, but held up a hand before the other could give him the gun, “But I came prepared too.” Just like that he reached into his coat pocket and produced his gun. The handgun was coated in thick silver steel plating similar to Ryuji’s Tkachev. It was adorned with red stripes that lined the weapon and converged into something akin to an eye near the muzzle. It almost looked as though it were gritting its teeth; if it _had_ teeth anyway. Considering the gun itself was made up of parts from a Persona, Akira decided not to think about it for too long.

Ryuji stared at it with wide eyes alongside Morgana as he brandished it towards them. He couldn’t really scrub the smirk off his face with those impressed faces. Persona executions were good for something, it seemed.

“Woah… where the hell did ya get somethin’ like that?” Ryuji asked, looking hopeful.

“Wait, did you bring one for me?” Morgana asked, equally hopeful. Akira grimaced slightly. Actually, back in his world, those guns were always so expensive even when Iwai cut him a deal. He only ever really bought a few, considering the guns punch in the Metaverse didn’t match up to its price tag. Their personas and weapons were leagues more effective. The real threat the guns had laid in their “hold up” moves.

“Uh, not this time.” Akira gave him an apologetic look, “And let’s just say I know a couple guys who knows a guy with a big nose.”

“The hell does that mean?” Ryuji raised an eyebrow. Morgana looked a bit more deflated at Akira’s words. It wasn’t long before the not-cat was shaking his head and jumping down from his spot on the table.

“Whatever, let’s just go!” Morgana urged them on. Now he just felt bad he hadn’t picked up something for Morgana. The trio nodded together as Akira pressed himself up against the door. Slowly he pushed it open with his palm, peering out into the dungeon once again. A look left, a look right, and the coast seemed clear.

“They’re being held in the training hall,” Akira made sure to mention before they got too far. Both his companions nodded in his direction.

“The training hall… I saw it this way.” Morgana pointed towards further in. Akira nodded in suit. In truth he already knew where it was, but he would let Morgana take the head this time. He stayed close beside Ryuji, making sure he didn’t get surprised by an ambush again. They moved with caution, slowly making their way towards the training hall. Unfortunately, Kamoshida was still on high alert due to their intrusion yesterday. Maybe tossing his guards around with Arsène wasn’t the best of ideas.

A guard lingered closer towards the training hall entrance. Morgana slid to the other side of the hallway’s opening. With a nod towards each other, Akira sprang forward. He quickly climbed his way on top of a now scrambling guard, clutching at the hollow mask it wore on its face. With the screeching sound of metal ripping from metal, the shadow reeled as it burst into its true form. Akira bounced back to Morgana’s side, creating a shield in front of Ryuji. The other boy held his ground this time, but he still scowled at their opponent as if it would scare them off just by looking.

It divided itself into two shadows; two Mandrakes, Akira recalled. Their flowery bodies wiggled in anticipation for the fight, eager to serve their king and master Kamoshida. Akira’s knife slid out from his coat sleeve and Morgana flashed his own scimitar. With their battle stances ready, they leapt into the fray.

“Zorro!” Morgana called and the blue flames of his persona whisked around him in an inferno. Before long the Mandrake he was facing was whipped up in a flurry of wind from the flick of Zorro’s sword hand. The creature was tossed into its partner, joining in a furious tornado of power. Akira slid his heel back.

“Arsène!” He shouted in time with Morgana, ripping off his mask with practiced ease. The demonic-looking persona appeared, brandishing his cacophony of laughter like a song. Below the twister of Mandrakes a black ooze surrounded them before a pulse of dark energy shot up from underneath both of them. They were reduced to nothing but smoke and ash. Satisfied with the results, the group continued on without sparing a second glance. 

Akira would say this was going a lot smoother than he remembered. These fights usually would have them struggling a lot more. Maybe it was because he was used to Morgana’s fighting style? Or maybe it was his own strength carrying him? The reasons were endless, but his time to think about it was short.

“As long as we ambush the guards, the security level of the Palace should weaken.” Morgana said quickly, “C’mon, it’s not much farther.”

They hurried through a large iron door leading further into the depths of the Palace’s dungeon. Once they descended the staircase, Akira paused. He held up his hand to make sure the other two stopped before gesturing his head to the side; an indication they weren’t alone. Morgana quickly pressed his body against the wall and Ryuji, a bit more slowly, followed. The three of them crept slowly forward, hiding behind a nearby wooden box to shield their presence. Two guards were standing on the other side of the hallway wall.

“Have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder yet?” One hollow guard asked.

“N-No, I haven’t.” The other replied with a twinge of uncertainty. The first guard merely shrugged before turning around towards the other end of the hallway. The uncertain one stepped forward, standing as a blockade towards the next hallway. Morgana clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Shoot… I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies. It’d be impossible to dodge all of them…” Morgana hissed under his breath, low enough for them to hear.

“Then, what do we do? Should we try and take ‘em down like before?” Ryuji’s worried voice cut in, somehow managing to stay low despite his previous outbursts. 

“It’s not that simple. We still have a long way to go, so we should be conserving our energy.” Morgana shot down the idea with a frown. Ryuji groaned in frustration.

“I-I see… Sorry…” Ryuji apologized with a frown of his own. He looked down at his feet, frustration painted all over his face.

“Dammit… I wish I could fight… I’d at least be able to help out a little bit…” Ryuji muttered under his breath. Akira felt a pang of guilt in his chest there. In his heart, he was just damn happy to be with his friend again whether or not he had a persona. Still, that wouldn’t change that Ryuji felt powerless in this situation. His showing off might be a bit of a damper on things too… Without another thought, Akira produced his gun from his inner coat pocket. That earned both Morgana and Ryuji’s attention.

“We’ll use this.” He stated calmly. Getting the jump on the enemy with a gun had been something Shinya had taught him in Gun About. While the Metaverse was no game world, it’s cognition bending abilities worked wonders on aligning the two. As long as he was good in Gun About, it didn’t matter if he never had held a gun in reality. The mind worked in mysterious ways and the Metaverse even moreso.

“Yeah… this could work!” Morgana said with a mischievous smile. Ryuji looked between them like they were both crazy.

“You’re really gonna take those guards out with that wacky lookin’ thing? Dude, you’re insane! Can it even fire?” Ryuji seemed adamant their plan wouldn’t work. Akira couldn’t exactly blame him either.

“Follow my lead.” Akira was moving as soon as he uttered the phrase. He could hear Ryuji’s startled yell, but he was already swinging his knife. He knocked the shadow’s mask off its face with a clean swipe and it burst into its real form. With a shower of black ooze, two shadows made themselves known; another Jack-o'-Lantern and a Mandrake. Jeez, as if there weren’t enough of them.

He and Morgana moved into position, both brandishing their ranged weapon of choice. He thrust out his arm and squeezed the trigger. The sharp recoil of the gun was enough to show off its power. He shot the Jack-o'-Lantern point blank and it burst into a pile of smoke before Akira had time to blink.

“Hey, not bad. Now I’ll show you my skill!” Morgana twisted his slingshot’s rubber band before launching it at the Mandrake. He was even quicker to reload his pellets with new ones, not even giving the shadow time to react before it was mere dust in the wind. Akira gave a tiny whistle in praise. Morgana puffed out his chest a little higher at that.

Before long Ryuji was running up to the two of them, his eyes practically the size of saucers. Akira let his gun twirl on his finger before pushing it back into its compartment against his chest. Easy win.

“Woah! Did that gun seriously actually shoot real freakin’ bullets? No friggin’ way!” Ryuji’s eyes sparkled like he had seen his childhood hero in action.

“This is the cognitive world.” Morgana turned to him, being a spoilsport in Akira’s eyes, “As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes as such. It’s a good thing it at least looks like a gun… I was worried for a moment there.” Akira only gave a shrug in response to that. Ryuji frowned, screwing his eyebrows back together.

“...I don’t get it.” He mumbled. Morgana let out a groan and ignored him.

“Because they recognize it as a gun, your ammo capacity is limited in battle.” Morgana informed them. Akira knew that all too well. Considering their limited usage in the Palace, you couldn’t just unload your whole clip without careful planning first. He had already used up one bullet.

“But your enemies are expecting you to come at them with guns fully loaded, so your ammo’s replenished after every new fight.” He purred. 

That knocked Akira’s thoughts straight into the grave. Wait a second… That wasn’t how the Metaverse functioned before. Sure, it made a lot more sense when Morgana put it like that, but why wasn’t that the case originally? Was Ren’s world really so different even changes in the Metaverse were affected? He had only been bluffing when he told Morgana about the Morgana from _his_ world too. Akira chewed at his lip. As if to confirm, he pulled out his gun again and slid out the magazine compartment. To his shock, Morgana was right. The one bullet he had used up was now replenished back in its casing.

“Hey, what’s all the commotion?!” The eerie voice of a knight rattled their ears. All three of them spun on their heels, coming face to face with the second guard. Fortunately, Akira had his gun drawn. He slammed his palm against the magazine holder, pushing it back into its place. With cat-like reflexes, he aimed his gun and fired. 

The bullet slammed into the knight’s mask, causing it to burst into its true form. The enemy shadow was already stunned, wobbling to the side. Akira fired again. It let out a scream before it burst into thin air.

“See? Your ammo was replenished.” Morgana purred again, looking all the more pleased with himself. Akira wanted to be happy with this turn of events—it would make traversing Palaces _much_ easier—but this information sank into his stomach like a bad batch of curry. When he had agreed to stepping into Ren’s timeline, he just assumed everything would be the same as before. The differences had been in their choices, not the world around them. At least, that's what he had thought.

“Hey, let’s go!” Morgana’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He and Ryuji were already heading down the now guard-free hallway. He shook his head before hustling after them. There were only a few shadows left to stand in their way before they reached the training hall. With both Morgana and Akira on the frontlines, the shadows barely stood a chance. They traversed the dungeon’s expanse, passing by the same moat he and Ryuji had seen earlier lining the underground area. Before long they reached another guarded door. 

The trio huddled against another stone wall, peering out from the edge to see the disinterested guard standing there. Their stop and go made Akira almost nostalgic, but truthfully he was getting a little tired of Morgana’s explanations.

“A guard… And I’m pretty sure that’s where we need to be going, too…” Speaking of Morgana, the not-cat was muttering that under his breath. Akira nodded in agreement. Sure enough, beyond that door would be where the cognitive volleyball players were.

“You guys gonna take it down again?” Ryuji said with a grin on his face. He seemed eager for them to beat up more of the guards, but Akira couldn’t deny there was a certain sense of power that came with crushing some easy shadows. Not necessarily one that would inflate his ego that much, but it still was a passing thought.

“I guess that’s our only choice…” Morgana relented, “...But wait, this might be a good time…” Akira recognized those words. He locked eyes with the other, nodding a little to his meaning.

“An All-Out Attack, then?” Akira said. Morgana’s eyes widened, but he quickly nodded.

“You catch on pretty quick.”

“ _‘All-Out Attack’_? What’s that?” Ryuji asked from behind them. Morgana was already kneeling, getting ready to pounce on their foe.

“It’ll be easier just to show you. You ready?” Morgana turned towards Akira with an expectant look. He only nodded one before he was brandishing his knife. He leapt forward with speed, slashing his knife upward, underneath the knight’s mask just near it’s chin. With a twist he ripped it clean off sending it skyward. It burst and revealed a lone Pixie this time around. He spun on his heel, grabbing the edge of his mask with a silent call to Arsène once more.

A small blast of darkness ensnared the Pixie for a moment and it squealed in agony. To Akira’s surprise the creature wasn’t turned to dust this time. It barely held on, but it quickly fell to the ground. It’s dazed expression meant he had managed to knock it not only down, but off guard.

“Now!” Morgana shouted. Before the Pixie could recover, both he and Morgana readied their guns. They quickly surrounded it, holding the Pixie hostage. If it made a wrong move, its proverbial brains would be splattered across the Palace floor. However, they gave the Pixie no time to speak. Akira raised his gun’s muzzle skyward as the signal and moved with a back handspring. Once he found his feet again, he and Morgana charged forward with incredible speed. 

Their moves flowed together seamlessly, each landing a solid blow one after the other. Even if there were only two of them, their combined might wouldn’t leave a chance of this shadow surviving. Once their moment had passed, the two bounced away from the Pixie. Akira twisted on his heel before tightening one of his gloves with a smirk. The shadow crumpled before it let out a burst of black ooze from its body. It was over before Ryuji had time to process what had happened. The blonde boy stood there in a stupor, his mouth agape to match.

“Was that ‘All-Out Attack’ thing that _super move_ you did just now?!” Ryuji exclaimed. Morgana wiped a paw along his own arm with a tiny smile.

“Yes. As long as we manage to knock down all the enemies and exploit their weakness, we can use that opening as an advantage to attack them all at once.”

“Yeah, that was over quick!” Ryuji commented, though he paused for a second, “Though, t’be honest most of your guys’ fights have been fast without it…” Morgana let out a little huff.

“Well, it helps that this guy is so strong… But an All-Out Attack combines our strength as a concentrated attack.” His eyes were on Akira at that moment. Akira only shrugged in response.

“With that being said, I think you should be the head of our command. It’s obvious your strength is no joke. If you’re giving out the orders, it’ll make our investigation a lot easier. I can still hang back and deliver intel too.” Morgana stared at him further. There were silent words spoken in his big blue eyes; ‘ _since you know about this place_ ’.

“No kiddin’, this guy acts like he’s been up ‘n down this place plenty of times.” Ryuji added, shoving his thumbs in his pockets. Well, it wasn’t like Ryuji was completely wrong. It almost surprised him how Ryuji could say stuff like that and be completely on the mark. Then again, it wasn’t like Akira was being subtle either.

“Works for me.” Akira said with a tiny smile. Morgana nodded, looking pleased with himself.

“It’s decided then! Let’s go.”

Akira moved forward and opened the door slowly, peering inside. Once the coast was clear, they entered further into the room the knight had been guarding. There was another door leading out of the room, adorned by a gaudy-looking banner overhead. Ryuji walked in a little further, squinting at it.

“Kamoshida’s… Training Hall… of Love? What kinda bullshit is this?!” Akira could practically hear Ryuji’s teeth grinding in anger as he read out the words on it. Without another word, he moved forward towards the end of the room. Morgana and, a little bit more slowly, Ryuji, tagged along behind him as they descended further. Once they had entered the dank hallway, the sounds of moaning and screaming echoed in their ears. The faint sound of machinery lingered in the air, though it was drowned out by the occasional spike in volume of a scream or two.

“These voices… Where’s it comin’ from?” Ryuji asked no one in particular. Akira grimaced behind his mask at the thought, but they all pressed forward without further delay.

The rest of their time inside the training hall was similar to what Akira remembered of it. Volleyball team members being tortured against their will with various and almost comically off-kilter machinery; he could check that one off the list. Morgana’s endless explanation, check that one off too. Ryuji and Morgana having another spat really just tied it all together with a bow. Akira found himself lost in thought as the situation went on, however. Never before would he have imagined he would be seeing this same scenery all over again.

With the defeat of Kamoshida it had signaled the Olympic medalist’s reign of terror would be over. All the kids who had been abused by him would finally be freed from under his thumb and all the adults who covered his ass would be exposed. Now that he could ruminate on it, he remembered that Principal Kobayakawa was part of that scandal. He had been in those magazines a few months after Kamoshida’s imprisonment. It was revealed there he was one of the people who knew about what was happening to the students and kept mum about it.

His sudden “suicide” had prevented any more information from leaking out on the subject. The Principal’s nose wasn’t clean either; he had been forcing Makoto into desperately searching for the truth of the Phantom Thieves. Akira wondered if maybe Kobayakawa even knew about what Kamoshida did to Ryuji.

_Ryuji…_

Akira let his eyes wander towards his friend. Ryuji’s face told a story of its own as he desperately pleaded with the volleyball members trapped inside their prison. Ryuji had been lucky; he actually tried to protect his teammates. Seeing Kamoshida treating these guys like slaves—like _targets_ for his own practice sessions—was no doubt doing a number to him emotionally. Ryuji hid his true feelings under a layer of vulgarity. He carried a lot on his shoulders; not only with his abusive father haunting his reputation, but caring for his mother too. His tough guy attitude was just a weight to keep him steady.

In between Ryuji and Morgana’s arguing, Ryuji had turned away from the not-a-cat now to stare back between the iron bars. Akira found himself gazing at his face. His eyes still were shining in the darkness of the dungeon, beaming with an underlying determination. Then, those eyes widened.

“Wait, I know these guys… They’re members of the volleyball team— the one Kamoshida coaches for!” Ryuji shouted.

“You _just_ noticed?” Akira found himself asking, barely even registering the words before they left his lips. Ryuji blinked back at him dumbly before rubbing the back of his neck.

“H-hey, I was caught up ‘n the moment, okay?!”

“They must be physically abused every day… There’s no way they’d be so beat up normally.” Morgana commented, cutting through their conversation.

“Don’t tell me… they’re going through similar shit in reality?!” Ryuji bared his teeth towards the iron bars. Akira nodded solemnly to himself.

“Most likely. I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them as slaves.” Morgana added.

“So that proves it…” Ryuji mumbled to himself, “I heard that Kamoshida’s usin’ physical punishment. They’re just rumors, but… If they’re true, shouldn’t this be somethin’ to report to the police? I’ll just use these guys as evidence. If all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida!” Ryuji shoved his hand deep into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Before he could get any further though, Akira cut in.

“That won’t work. Our phones don’t function in the Palaces.” Akira said. Ryuji looked up at him in surprise.

“But we used that weird app thingie to get in here? Whaddya mean?”

“A weird app?” Morgana asked, looking up curiously between them. Akira shook his head.

“The app’s probably connected to this place, so only it works in here.”

“Whatever you do is fine, but we’ll get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!” Morgana jumped up in an attempt to garner their attention. Akira nodded. He had a point. Those volleyball members had already come up and talked to them, so it wasn’t like they were well hidden here.

“Tch, fine, I’ll just memorize their faces then! It’s the only way.” Ryuji clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then moved quickly down the corridor, pausing at every opportunity on the rows of cells to get a glimpse at their said faces. Akira stayed put, rather than following Ryuji this time around. It wouldn’t take him long anyway. Morgana’s eyes were back towards him, as if he wanted to say something. Out of the corner of his eye saw Morgana’s mouth open, but before he could say anything Ryuji came running back.

“Alright, I think I got ‘em all.” He panted.

“Let’s scram then! We already wasted too much time here!” Morgana said urgently. The three nodded together. With that they made their way back from whence they came. As they were moving through the corridors, however, they could hear the echoing voices of the guards scrambling.

“We’ve lost contact from our guard stations! There’s intruders in the castle! Capture them on sight!”

The trio moved along, Morgana heading the group with quick feet. Akira and Ryuji ran alongside each other, squeezing into the staircase leading back up into the main hall. Morgana reached the top of the stairs, raising a paw and gesturing forward.

“Hurry up! The exit is this way!”

They reached the main hall proper, hurrying towards their infiltration point. However, as soon as they reached the middle of the room they were stopped by none other than the man himself, Kamoshida. He arrived outfitted with his rows of guards, one adorned in gaudy golden armor alongside their usual dull silver. His majestically arrogant face was screwed up into a scowl. Taking out some of his guards and the events from last time must have really done a number on him; or he was in a bad mood in the real world. 

The trio stopped dead in their tracks, though Akira hovered his hand outwards preparing to draw his weapon this time. It wouldn’t be a repeat of his first encounter with Ryuji. Kamoshida’s golden glowing eyes bore into each of their faces.

“...You knaves again?” Kamoshida’s lips were curled into a snarl, “To think you’d make the same mistake again. You’re hopeless!”

“The school ain’t your castle!” Ryuji shouted, stomping a foot in front of him and raising his fist, “I’ve memorized their faces real good! You’re goin’ down!” 

Despite Ryuji’s words, Kamoshida only raised his eyebrow by a hair. A sickeningly smug smirk stretched across his face.

“It’s true when they say ‘barking dogs seldom bite’.” Kamoshida jeered, “How far the star runner of the track team has fallen.” 

Ryuji glare narrowed in on him at those words.

“What the hell you gettin’ at?!” He challenged.

“I speak of the _‘Track Traitor’_ who acted in violence, ending his teammates’ dreams. Oh, I can only imagine the pain of others who were dragged under your… selfish act.” That pause punctuated the situation. Akira found himself aggravated just listening to Kamoshida goading Ryuji on. Ryuji seemed stunned by the words, barely letting out a grunt of frustration. He couldn’t fight back against his words; they were a truth to Ryuji. 

However, Akira knew better than that. Ryuji hadn’t done it out of malice. He had done it in self interest, sure, but it was because he was the only one with the balls to stand up to Kamoshida’s torture. He did what everyone else was too scared to do.

All he earned out of it was a busted leg and a scorn from the place where he believed he had belonged. Akira couldn’t take it any longer.

“Ryuji is no traitor.” Akira stepped forward, startling everyone with the power behind his words. His face remained the picture of ice, but a fire burned behind his eyes. Ryuji stared at him like a deer caught in headlights, blinking dumbly at him.

“R-Ren…” He mumbled, but the words he wanted to say were lost in his throat. Kamoshida was also stunned into silence before his smug smile returned back to his face.

“Oh-ho, so the _delinquent_ thinks he knows anything about someone he just met? I suppose with your criminal record it wouldn’t take you much to dig up dirt on any student. Yet you know the truth, that he still keeps on carefree as ever while his former teammates have to suffer.”

Morgana eyed the shadows carefully, watching as their bodies irregularly shook with every jeer Kamoshida tossed their way. Ryuji stood there, grinding his teeth but somehow managing to hold his tongue.

“Ryuji isn’t like that.” Akira sternly said.

“Your blind trust in this fool will only lead you to your death, you know.” Kamoshida sneered, and turned around on his heel, “Hurry up and dispose of them. I can’t stand their stench.”

As Kamoshida turned to leave, the two dully colored armored knights stepped forward with the swing of their gaudy commander’s sword. They burst into their true forms, three Bicorns snorting loudly through their noses.

“Goddammit…” Ryuji cursed, hands balling into fists. Akira could understand his frustration, but he had to focus. He stepped in front of the distracted Ryuji, drawing his weapon.

“Ryuji, move!” Morgana shouted, but Ryuji didn’t hear. The shadows surrounded them, blocking them into a tight circle with their backs to each other. Honestly, two shadows splitting into three never made sense to Akira. It almost felt like the three kids in a trenchcoat taken too literally.

“Crap, we’re surrounded!” Morgana hissed, brandishing his scimitar. He didn’t have time for idle thoughts now.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you ‘cause King Kamoshida told us! I’ll kill ‘cause that’s what he wants!” A Bicorn whinnied, stomping its hooves into the carved marble below them. Akira turned to face it, holding his knife out in front of him. His eyes drifted over the targets, trying to plan his move. Ryuji stuck close to them, only staring back with gritted teeth and a scowl to match.

“Sorry, can’t die yet.” Akira whipped out his gun, landing a clean shot on one Bicorn. Its head sunk inward from the power of gunshot, leaving a clean hole in its head. The shadow exploded into bits of black, leaving a gap in their defenses. However, just as he finished one off, another replaced it. Akira hissed between his teeth in annoyance. They had been overpowered here before, but would things really happen like last time?

Just as he thought that, a Bicorn lunged forward. It’s curved horns drove themselves into Morgana’s body, sending him flying across the main hall. He landed hard against the glass window of the castle, reeling from the impact.

“Morgana!” He shouted and he moved to fire at the offender. He pulled the gun’s trigger, but it only responded with a dull click.

“What?” He found himself asking, turning the gun to the side before pulling the trigger again. Was it jammed? How did _mental_ guns get jammed?! Before he could move, he was double teamed by two lunging Bicorns. Despite his earlier strength, suddenly he felt weak from their impact. The air pushed out of his lungs, sending him hurling like a rag doll, joining a crumpled Morgana on the floor.

“Monamona! Ren!” Ryuji called out to them, backing up from the shadows. Morgana struggled to his feet, arms shaking with determination to stand. Kamoshida crawled his way through the cluster of shadows, stamping his foot on top of Morgana’s back. He pinned him almost pathetically easily. Before Akira could return to his feet, he felt the heavy foot of the golden soldier on his own back.

“Ngh— You piece of—!” Morgana struggled, but it was no use. Ryuji fell to his knees, all the bravado he had fizzling out. Akira grit his teeth as he tried to stand—tried to will his body to move, _dammit_ —but he could only sit there under Kamoshida’s pawn.

Where was his power? His strength from before? It was like in that moment it had all been sucked away. The cogs of fate kept turning, even if Akira knew they weren’t in real danger. Ryuji’s power was stirring; bubbling just below the surface. Even if Akira knew, Ryuji had no idea what was happening. To him, they really were about to be killed.

“I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this. Isn’t that right?” Kamoshida turned his head slowly towards Ryuji, that sickening smile on his face.

“No…” Ryuji’s voice wavered. Akira struggled again to break free of the shadow’s hold. His face was only pushed further into the red rug.

“What a worthless piece of trash, getting all emotional so quickly…” Kamoshida leered, “How _dare_ you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my _kindness_ in supervising track practice?” Ryuji flinched, not before falling over pounding his fists into the rug. His head hung low in defeat.

“That wasn’t no practice— it was physical abuse! You just didn’t like our team!” Ryuji shouted back, lifting his head to glare at his former “coach”.

“It was nothing but an eyesore!” Kamoshida agreed, “The only one who needs to achieve results is me! That coach who got fired was hopeless too… Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would’ve settled it with only breaking his star’s leg.”

Those words made something crack within Ryuji. Akira could see it in his face; in his eyes. The look of horror that crossed over his features. His eyes widened, the whites of them showing as clear as a cloudless sky.

“...What?” Disbelief held tightly on Ryuji’s word.

“Do you need me to deal with your other leg too? The school will call it self-defense anyway!” Kamoshida practically burst into a fit of laughter.

“No… Am I gonna lose again?” Ryuji’s head lowered, his voice following along with it. Akira struggled again. Ryuji’s body curled in on itself, but Akira knew. Deep within him the call of a rebel sang.

“Not only can I not run anymore… The track team is gone too ‘cause of this asshole…” Ryuji murmured, though Akira barely caught it.

“So that’s why…” Morgana spoke up, clearly having heard just what Akira did. He wouldn’t be surprised, considering cats did have good hearing. Well, they should anyway. Kamoshida ground his heel into Morgana’s back and the victim let out a groan of pain.

“Once these two are dealt with, you’re next.” Kamoshida said flatly. The words pierced the air with finality. Akira struggled again, but the knight holding him bashed his head with the blunt of his sword. He reeled and he heard Ryuji’s shocked gasp. Fortunately, he was only dazed.

“Ryuji!” Morgana shouted between Kamoshida’s maddening laughter. Morgana looked at him desperately, but Ryuji was defenseless. Kamoshida, on the other hand, was pleased as punch. He had them, especially Ryuji, the capital thorn in his side, in his grasp… but Akira knew better. He struggled to get his bearings from the assault of Kamoshida’s guard.

“Stand up for yourself! Don’t let this bastard win!” Akira shouted. Ryuji’s shoulders stiffened. He squirmed again, raising his head off the floor to stare directly at his friend. They defeated Kamoshida once before, they’d damn well do it again. Ryuji’s eyes lowered towards the ground. He roamed over the red rug for a moment or two before they raised again.

“...You’re right,” Ryuji spoke softly, but his voice rose with every word, “Everything that was important to me as taken by him… I’ll never get ‘em back!” Kamoshida sneered at his words.

“Stay there and watch.” Kamoshida warned, “Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you.”

“No… That’s what you are…”

The air pulsed with a sudden energy. Akira and Morgana looked up in surprise. Slowly, Ryuji was returning to his feet. He stumbled slightly, leaning to the side a little off one of his legs before he rose to his full height. His eyes burned with a sudden passion, looking completely different than the scared boy he had been before. Kamoshida's eyes glinted as he watched Ryuji rise. His once beaming face had turned sour all at once as he eyed him. Even as Ryuji's body hunched over slightly, he stared Kamoshida directly in the eyes. His fiery demeanor was almost blinding.

“All you think about is using people… You’re the real scumbag, Kamoshida!” Ryuji walked forward. Even with his gait thrown off by his limp, he moved proudly. Kamoshida’s eyebrows raised in surprise. While he didn’t move, he was thrown off by Ryuji’s sudden proclamation.

“What are you doing? Silence him!” Kamoshida hissed to his stationary guards. The shadows must have sensed the air, for they remained still even now. Their bodies jerked in unworldly motions, but that was the only movement they made. Ryuji thrust a pointed finger at Kamoshida, then and there.

“Stop lookin’ down at me with that _stupid_ smile on your face!”

The pulse again rippled the air. Akira struggled to see what was happening. Just then, Ryuji’s eyes bloomed into a brilliant gold. They rolled back with a sudden ferocity and Ryuji stumbled backwards. He grabbed at his head, tearing madly as if something had crawled its way into his brain. He fell to his knees soon after, curling back into that ball he had been earlier all the while grabbing at his head. He was in agony, plain and simply put. The way his fingers tore into his hair practically threatened to crack his skull. He let out a loud groan, struggling on the rug of the main hall as he tried to keep control of himself.

His body contorted. He moved to stand, but the sheer intensity of the pain made him crumble again. Akira watched on not in horror, but in odd excitement. A smirk crawled over his lips as they were all enraptured by the show Ryuji was performing. Ryuji rolled on his back, fingers boring into his skull as he screamed. His back twisted and his legs flailed for purchase. Kamoshida stood there, frozen in fear of what was happening to the ‘Track Traitor’. Ryuji’s screams of agony softened as he got to his knees. His head bent inward towards his stomach before it finally lifted. Akira’s smirk stretched into a grin.

Skull had returned.

The black half of a skull’s upper jaw planted itself proudly on Ryuji’s face. Spit and sweat stuck to his features, but the mask showed no sign of damage. He slowly got to his feet, arms swinging slowly as they crawled up to his face. He felt around the mask for a brief moment, as if he were registering what had happened.

“Hmph. What can you do? Cower in fear and watch!” The golden guard’s voice from above Akira spoke. He looked up, seeing him raising his sword now. This time it wasn’t going to be a tiny bump on his head. Once he looked back towards Ryuji, the bottle-blonde was already gripping the edges of his mask. He struggled for only a moment, using both hands to savagely rip the mask from his face. Steaks of skin and blood ripped from his face and Ryuji let out an ear-piercing scream. A blast of energy burst around him and seared through everyone within proximity to him.

The guards, Kamoshida, and both Akira and Morgana all flinched as it crashed into them like a wave. The guards and Kamoshida were knocked to the side, freeing Akira and Morgana from their capture. The power was immense, pressure pushing back Akira as he fought against it. A pillar of blue fire surged from where Ryuji had been, twisting in beams of blue and white. Soon enough, the clatter of chains rattled throughout the main hall. Once it had subsided, Akira got to his feet holding out a hand for Morgana to take. Once they had both gotten up, they had a full view of their friend.

The light dissipated. Standing tall and proud was Ryuji. Behind him was a ship, but riding on top of it was a man—or rather not a man but a _skeleton_ — clad in black with a red cape that swept in the wind. His body was adorned in swords, but instead of a hook for a hand it was a cannon. He also wore a comically oversized pirate hat with a peacoat to add to his skeletal appearance. Everything about it screamed like the skeleton would cackle “shiver me timbers” or something. Ryuji’s head finally raised and a smirk cracked its way across his face.

“Ugh, another one?!” Kamoshida hissed, holding up his arm to guard himself from the whirlwind still whipping from Ryuji. The skull mask he was once wearing had disappeared, leaving Ryuji to take a look at his own rebel attire.

“Right on… Wassup, Persona… This effin’ rocks!” Ryuji’s smile never left his face. The power bursting from Ryuji was no joke. Akira and Morgana hurried to his side, each preparing for battle once more. Akira noticed his strength had returned now, flexing his fingers cautiously as if it would be stolen away again.

“Now that I got this power, it’s time for payback…” Ryuji cracked his knuckles, rolling his head a little, “Yo, I’m ready… Bring it!”

The guards shifted into their own battle stances, the gold captain taking the helm of their group. He jerked his golden sword forward with a growl.

“Don’t mock me, you brat!” As soon as he swore, the shadow burst. The new form in front of them was an armored man riding a horse; Eligor. The horse reared with a loud whinny as Eligor flourished his lance towards them with a thrust forward.

“Blast him away… Captain Kidd!” Ryuji thrust his index finger forward, shouting at their new foe. Akira couldn’t stop his own smile shining on his face. Finally, they were reaching a point where they were slowly rejoining their ranks. All they needed was Ann, and their original team would be back together again.

The chime of battle rang and the almost Phantom Thieves rushed forward.


	5. V. Two of Swords

**CONTACT:** Sakamoto, Ryuji  
**TOPIC:** hey i decided...  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **RS:** hey i decided to go ahead and message you  
**RS:** can you see this?  
**AK:** Nope.  
**RS:** then howd you respond?!  
**RS:** whatever  
**RS:** dont forget you agreed to help me find those guys gettin abused!  
**RS:** im gonna be countin on you tomorrow OK?  
**AK:** Got it.  
**RS:** thanks.  
**RS:** lets save those guys.  
**RS:** you and me.  
**AK:** And Morgana.  
**RS:** what?  
**AK:** Morgana. The cat we met in the Palace.  
**RS:** oh  
**RS:** riiiiight  
**RS:** damn i wish that thing had a different name  
**AK:** kfgdfkgd  
**RS:** would be waaaaaaaaay easier to remember  
**RS:** ?  
**RS:** you ok dude?  
**AK:** Sorry. It’s nothing.  
**RS:** uh...  
**RS:** so hows he gonna help? aint he just a monster cat?  
**AK:** He knows how we can defeat Kamoshida.  
**RS:** defeat?  
**AK:** We can make him confess everything.  
**RS:** FOR REAL??????????????  
**RS:** dont pull my leg dude!  
**AK:** I’m not.  
**RS:** ok then how do we do it?  
**RS:** with those persona things right?  
**AK:** We take his treasure from inside his Palace.  
**RS:** treasure?  
**RS:** so like his crown or something  
**RS:** you think that place really has a vault?  
**AK:** Well. Sort of. Not quite the crown he wears.  
**RS:** be clearer dude  
**RS:** all of this is way over my head  
**AK:** The treasure is the source of the distortion in his Palace. If we take it, he’ll lose his desire to be an asshole and confess his crimes.  
**AK:** Basically, he’ll have a change of heart.  
**RS:** hm…  
**RS:** so we only have to steal the treasure?  
**AK:** Right.  
**AK:** There’s a catch, however.  
**RS:** ?  
**AK:** If Kamoshida is killed in that world, he’ll die in the real world.  
**AK:** So we can’t mess up.  
**RS:** wait but you said wed just have to steal it  
**AK:** Even if we bypass the guards, we’ll have to expect a fight.  
**AK:** He’ll end up taking matters into his own hands once we try to take the treasure.  
**RS:** well he is the ruler n all  
**RS:** as much as i hate admitting that  
**RS:** so worst case he’ll fight us for the treasure?  
**AK:** It’s more than likely.  
**AK:** It’s incredibly risky on both ends.  
**AK:** It’ll be either him or us if we’re not cautious.  
**RS:** dude…  
**RS:** no kiddin?  
**AK:** Dead serious.  
**RS:** damn dude...  
**RS:** i mean i hate that guys guts but i dont wanna see him wind up dead…  
**AK:** That’s why we only weaken him, so we can make off with the treasure.  
**RS:** makes sense…

…

 **RS:** i dunno about this, ren…  
**RS:** i still think we got a shot with the volleyball team.  
**RS:** so lets try our luck tomorrow  
**RS:** we’ve got that stupid rally so itll be easy to talk to those guys with no classes n shit  
**RS:** OK?  
**AK:** ...OK.  
**RS:** oh yeah btw  
**RS:** that thingy on your phone was some red eyeball icon right?  
**AK:** Yeah.  
**RS:** i found it on my phone too…  
**RS:** i dont even remember installing it!  
**AK:** It’s normal.  
**RS:** normal?  
**RS:** are you for real?  
**RS:** apps installin themselves aint friggin normal!  
**AK:** It installs itself once you become a Persona user.  
**RS:** really? man…  
**RS:** its still dangerous to use somethin without knowin what it is…  
**RS:** but with it we can go to that weird place right?  
**AK:** Right.  
**RS:** basically its gonna depend how we use it.  
**AK:** I know the basics.  
**RS:** you do?  
**RS:** geez dude how much stuff do you friggin know?!  
**AK:** Enough.  
**RS:** wowww  
**RS:** arent you a badass!  
**RS:** anyway  
**RS:** first we gotta find evidence of the beatings  
**RS:** that way we can make a plan of attack  
**RS:** if he could really die… i wanna be sure theres no other way.  
**RS:** im counting on you alright?  
**RS:** dont go ditching me!  
**AK:** Wouldn’t dream of it.  
**RS:** good!  
**RS:** btw  
**RS:** thanks for everything lately  
**RS:** sorry to drag you around  
**RS:** seeya tomorrow ren!  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akira sighed, closing out of the chat application. He let his arm fall back against his bed, adjusting to sit himself upright. Letting go of his phone, he massaged the back of his hand where Morgana had slapped it for making that “cat” comment. He guessed he deserved it… but still, it was a bit uncalled for. Once he was done he let his free arm prop up the back of his head, staring at the wood panels that made up the ceiling of the attic.

Once they had defeated the golden soldier accompanying Kamoshida they had retreated due to the endless call for reinforcements. It really just emphasized how _many_ people he had under his thumb. Once they had broken through their ranks and returned to the real world, that was where they had called it a day. With Ryuji’s persona awakened, Akira could finally ask him if he would help take down Kamoshida. Ryuji agreed, though he didn’t realize that Morgana would be helping them out until Morgana had proudly proclaimed as such.

When Morgana butted in with talk of Mementos, Ryuji merely waved a hand off and said he had “never promised to help Morgana”. It was so similar to last time Akira almost laughed. While Morgana stayed inside the Palace to do some investigating (Akira was sure he was just cooling off), Akira made sure to talk to Ryuji about it a bit more over some hot beef bowls. He told him that Morgana’s help was necessary in taking Kamoshida down; he humored Ryuji about his own past record as well, now that it had cropped up thanks to Mishima’s leaks. It sounded like enough for Ryuji, who only gave a shrug and a nod of acceptance at everything to do with Kamoshida. 

The conversation had lit a spark in Akira’s chest. Ryuji’s words of “we both don’t belong” stabbed at his heart with both sharp pain and warmth. There was a soft, fuzzy feeling of a connection he knew well, one of the many powers of those who wielded the wild card. Or, at least, that would be what he guessed. He never met anyone with his power besides Akechi, and he wasn’t exactly the kind of guy you asked that stuff over coffee.

At the same time, he still hadn’t brought up who he really was nor anything about their situation. He supposed maybe once he and Ryuji got closer it would be time to reveal that… but Ryuji was his _first_ friend here in Tokyo. The situation had sat like a sharp stone that somehow found its way into his stomach.

Now, this whole chat conversation made him even more uneasy. He was skipping a few steps, already revealing they could use the Palace as a way to change Kamoshida’s heart. Ryuji’s reluctance was a valid concern; he, too, had hesitated once before. Considering the fact they had failed to save Haru’s father from that fate, it weighed on his heart even today. Even though he was in a reality where he was alive, it still meant Haru was suffering again too. The world giveth and taketh away, he supposed.

Despite himself, he had decided to go along with Ryuji’s plan. He knew the results would be the same as last time; that no one being abused would dare speak out against Kamoshida. He didn’t want to give Ryuji false hope… but somehow saying no to his strong desire to get to the bottom of things was his weakness. _Dammit_...

“So, we’re planning some intel-gathering tomorrow?” Morgana asked, perched on the end of Akira’s bed, breaking the silence between them. He still looked annoyed about what he read on Akira’s phone, but the reason why was obvious enough.

“That’s the idea.” Akira replied with a tired nod. He wanted to keep talking to Morgana, but the edges of sleep prickled at his eyes. His body still wasn’t used to the Metaverse after all this time. What he wouldn’t do for a massage from Kawakami right about now… He wanted to ask how Morgana’s recon went, but sleep was gnawing at his brain. Just as he was about to turn in, he heard Morgana moving closer to him on the bed.

“You know…” Morgana started, pausing for only a moment as he gathered his words, “You never actually introduced yourself. Everyone keeps calling you ‘Ren’, but you’re from another world, right?” He was staring at him expectantly. Akira found himself at a loss. Morgana only knew what Akira had told him about his past; he had left out his and Ren’s names originally since it wasn’t that important. It was pretty perceptive of him to pick up on it, but Morgana always was one of the brains of their group. When he wasn’t drooling over Ann anyway.

In this world, since he had taken up Ren’s mantle, he had never bothered to correct anyone with his real name. Ren’s name was on his student ID, after all, and in the school’s registry. The only place the name ‘Akira Kurusu’ existed was within his probation diary. His eyes closed halfway in contemplation. Futaba would no doubt still be awake right now, even if Sojiro had long left Leblanc after delivering his famous lecture for the evening. Futaba always did like to send him memes at four in the morning or her results of some english MMO she was playing.

Akira shifted on the bed, grabbing his phone as he moved to sit with his legs crossed. Morgana crept over closer, watching him as he punched in numbers on his smartphone’s lock screen. He tapped open his Notes app and started typing. Once he was finished, he showed it towards him.

“Akira… Kurusu, huh?” Morgana let the name roll off his tongue as he read the words aloud. “Not bad. Why don’t you go by that instead?”

Akira frowned and pulled the phone back. He tapped the phone’s keyboard and began writing again. Once he was finished, he showed it again:

_‘I took the other me’s place, so this is the name this world knows me as. I don’t think I should go around changing it.’_

“I see…” Morgana’s ears flattened against his head. He looked almost guilty for asking, but it was gone once Akira blinked.

“Do you mind if I call you Akira, then?” Morgana asked, tilting his head to the side. Akira couldn’t hide the surprise on his face. It filled him with a strange feeling, but he couldn’t deny the thought would be… nice. Maybe one normal thing in his situation once again. Maybe even a sign that he could find a place he belonged despite being an outsider in this world. It was for the sake of his friends, he reminded himself. Even if he felt bad lying to them, they needed to win this game. He had to persevere. He let a smile slip on his face and nodded towards him. Morgana perked up at that, curling his tail just a bit with a smile of his own.

“Alright! From this moment on, you and I are partners, Akira!” Morgana said proudly, puffing out his chest a little. Akira couldn’t help but brighten up a little. He was still tired, sure, but Morgana’s assurance was nice to have. It was like a light in the bleak darkness… maybe even a tiny beam of hope.

“Does this mean you trust me?” He asked. Morgana blinked in surprise, as if he hadn’t even thought of it. So much for judging Akira’s power…

“O-Of course not!” Morgana pouted, “I just decided now you’ll be an asset to me! If you’re really serious about stealing Kamoshida’s treasure, our goals align. Calling you by some other name would get annoying anyway. Plus, I’m not the kind of guy who’d take advantage of that help.” The black and white cat moved back towards the end of the bed. He wiggled his haunches briefly before leaping onto Akira’s still cluttered desk, then turned his gaze back towards him, making sure he knew he was paying attention.

“Our relationship can be a give and take one. You’re no amateur, but I’ll still assist you with making phantom thief tools. Four hands are better than two after all.”

“Tools?” Akira watched his words here, raising an eyebrow at him. _‘Hands?’_ He added silently to himself.

“If we’re going to be working together, then proper thieves need tools. You said we were Phantom Thieves before, right?”

Akira nodded.

“Then it’s self explanatory. Besides, I couldn’t live with myself if I owed you some kind of debt. I’ve got a piece in the works I think you’ll really be impressed by.” Morgana’s smug air soon returned. His tail raised up high was enough to tell Akira he was feeling proud of himself with whatever work in progress it was. Knowing Morgana it probably was just something like a smokescreen with sleeping gas or something like that. Anything was hard to live up to the Perma-Pick’s (Morgana trademarked) status. Honestly, he was shocked he could make anything with those tiny paws. Most of the time, Akira was doing all the hard work of actually making things anyway.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Akira smiled. He could feel that faint warm glow again; the same one he had felt earlier with Ryuji. It spread out from his chest to his fingertips like hot coffee on a cold day. Morgana’s bond was faint, but it was there alongside Ryuji’s too. One step in the right direction, at least.

“Actually, why couldn’t you tell me all this in person anyway?” Morgana blinked in sudden realization. Akira glanced around the room for a moment, as if Futaba had suddenly installed cameras to her bugs. He hastily turned back to his phone and began typing furiously. Morgana bounced back onto his bed, looking up curiously as he showed him the message:

_‘Leblanc is wiretapped.’_

“Wiretapped?!” Morgana repeated. He nodded once. The cat grumbled, looking towards the window in thought.

“So that’s why you wanted me to meet you in Kichijoji, huh?” He asked. Akira nodded again, slower this time as fatigue was catching up to him.

“Hm… Is this another Phantom Thief’s doing? Or is it an enemy?” Morgana’s blue eyes bore into him.

“A friend.” Akira said.

“I see… They must be something else if they want Leblanc wiretapped. Good thing they can’t hear what I’m saying. Still, that’s pretty weird.” Morgana sat on his haunches again, rubbing at his ear with a paw. Despite claiming to not be a cat, he still ended up with cat-like mannerisms. Considering he didn’t want to add another scratch to his hand, though, that comment stayed with Akira. Morgana shook his head before staring back at him.

“I still don’t really understand why you want to keep your origins quiet. You opened up to me after all.” Morgana tilted his head to the side.

Akira bit his lip. He let go of his phone to twist a piece of his bangs in his fingers. What a thing to ask...

“It’s for everyone's safety.” Akira said carefully, “If the game goes too far off track, _it_ could pull something. I still don’t have all my power back from before… and I haven’t exactly come up with how to stop it either.” Akira looked down with a frustrated frown. All this time, he had been so caught up with meeting his friends again he hadn’t put much thought into what came _after_.

“Well, you did just get dumped into this world pretty abruptly. I can sympathize.” Morgana’s concern was welcome to Akira. The tuxedo cat seemed to be thinking for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders.

“We can hash it out some other time. You must be pretty tired. Let’s get some sleep.”

Akira’s head hit the pillow before Morgana could even finish his sentence.

***

Kasumi Yoshizawa tugged at the collar of her school uniform. The red and white contrasted their black and red uniforms, picking out those exempt from the rest of the volleyball rally easily in the crowd. She had been given permission to skip the volleyball rally, due to her high standing as an Honors student. Honestly, she didn’t really want to be held quite up to this standard but… she couldn’t deny it would be beneficial if she got more practice in. 

Even with this being her first year in highschool, she was lucky she had been able to transfer here with such high credits thanks to her gymnastics. In the back of her mind buzzed an ugly feeling, but Kasumi kept her head held high and focused on her gait instead. Focusing on her walking always kept her mind preoccupied; strong and wide strides were good at measuring distance after a jump. She moved through the sea of red and white jerseys like a dance routine, easily sidestepping from students chatting to their friends or focused on their phones.

“Attention, attention. All matches have concluded. Please get ready to go home for today…”

The PA system’s words were like a gun firing off at the starting line of a track meet. A once calm sea of students now became a raging tide, all eager to retreat for home early that day. Her red ponytail bobbed in time with her pace, focusing on heading straight for the school’s entrance. Maybe she could get a few laps in at the gym for a bit of cardio work… It was that thought that distracted her at that moment. 

She bumped into someone’s shoulder, causing her to spin out to the side with practiced grace. It was all instinctual too, Kasumi barely registered she had done it until she looked towards who she had bumped into. The two stepped towards the side near the lockers, just so they wouldn’t get bumped by the remaining hurrying students.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?” Kasumi was the first to react, standing up straight and bowing her head in apology. The girl looked about a year older than her, if she was making a guess. Considering the rally, she wasn’t wearing her usual uniform so Kasumi couldn’t tell. She certainly didn’t recognize her from the first-years but… to be honest Kasumi didn’t recognize most of them. They all kept their distance from her.

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m fine.” The girl said, gently bowing back. However, when she lifted her head Kasumi couldn’t help but grimace. Her face was covered in bruises, a nasty once placed just above her eyebrow. ‘With her hair tied back in a ponytail, similar to Kasumi’s own, she wasn’t doing herself any favors in covering up them easier. Even with her brown bangs blocking the sides of her face, it wasn’t hard to tell she had been beat up by something nasty. The more she looked, the more she noticed how… _empty_ her brown eyes seemed. Kasumi could only hope she didn’t agitate her bruises.

“Are you sure? You look pretty beat up… I’d never forgive myself if I hurt someone on accident.” Kasumi pushed, concern painting her features. The girl’s eyes widened in surprise before shaking her head suddenly.

“O-Oh, these? These are from practice.” She tried to explain. That gave Kasumi pause.

“Practice?”

“I’m part of the volleyball team.” The girl explained, “I’m Shiho Suzui.”

“Oh yes! I’ve heard about you. You’re quite the image of a starter, Suzui-senpai.” Kasumi smiled back at her. While she didn’t know many students, there were a few she _had_ heard of. The volleyball team in particular was the pride of the school after all. Suzui looked embarrassed for a moment, lowering her gaze to the wood floor. That had Kasumi blinking into silence. She didn’t _think_ she said anything wrong… maybe she was just having a bad day?

“O-Oh, I don’t know about that.” She glanced away, fidgeting with the hem of her jersey. Kasumi could only stare back at her curiously. It was pretty obvious she didn’t want to talk about it any further. Despite her concerns, Kasumi felt herself at a loss. Well… it’d be rude of her not to introduce herself.

“I’m Kasumi Yoshizawa. I hope you can forgive me for bumping into you, senpai.” Kasumi bowed again. It was only polite to be kind to one's upperclassmen! When Suzui stared at her, however, she seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. It was only a flash behind her eyes for a second, but she soon perked back up.

“Oh, are you the honors student people are talking about?” Suzui asked, “There’s nothing to forgive. I’ve just… been in my own head lately.”

“I can understand that. While we may be in different athletics programs, there’s a lot of pressure that can get to you easily.” Kasumi assured with a knowing smile. Ever since entering highschool it certainly felt like one ordeal after another, especially after losing her sister… A twinge of pain flooded her heart, but she shook it off.

“Yeah, I’m sure being an honors student comes with a lot of pressure… but everyone’s looking forward to your results.” Suzui looked a bit more cheerful when she said that. Kasumi felt her spirits rise and fall simultaneously. On one hand, she was happy to have the support of her peers. On the other, that support also came with the heavy weight of what would happen if she failed. Despite it, she smiled and buried that feeling down in her chest.

“Thank you for your support, senpai!” Kasumi returned her cheer with some of her own; at least some fake cheer she could muster. Before their conversation could continue further, someone walked out from the doors to the courtyard. It was a girl with beautiful ash blonde hair and striking blue eyes. Kasumi had seen her a few times in the halls, but she had never spoken to her directly before.

“Shiho?” The girl joined them, moving to Suzui’s side almost at once. The smaller girl seemed to perk up then and there, almost like her energy had returned.

“Oh, Ann, what’s up? You look upset.” Suzui’s eyes were immediately on her friend, a glimmer of concern pushing past that emptiness Kasumi had seen before. Kasumi looked on, not denying that she was feeling a bit curious herself.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bunch of dumb guys.” The girl—Ann—sighed, planting her hands on her hips. Kasumi stepped to the side slightly. Should she really be hanging around for this conversation? Ann hadn’t seemed to notice her at all.

“Guys? Did someone ask you out or something?” Suzui seemed surprised, but Ann merely huffed.

“Hell no! Ugh, y’know the transfer student? The guy everyone’s talking about with the criminal record?” She asked, tilting her head, “I wanted to talk to him, but Sakamoto-kun got in the way. That guy really bugs me sometimes… he’s barely changed from middle school, I swear.” She closed her eyes before opening them suddenly. Her attention was towards Kasumi, who gave an awkward smile in return.

“Um, hello.”

“Oh my gosh, my bad! I was so caught up I didn’t even realize…” Ann apologized, quickly doing a tiny bow in front of her. Suzui laughed a little, hiding it behind a small closed fist.

“That’s Ann for you.” Her smile was a lot more genuine now. Kasumi wondered if her own could really live up to it. She tried to smooth out the awkwardness of the situation by shaking her head.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry. I should be going.” Kasumi bowed her own head at that. She didn’t have time to be eavesdropping on their conversation… especially after she rudely bumped into one of her upperclassmen!

“It’s no big deal, I’m just venting!” Ann waved a hand in front of her face, “Actually, you’ve heard the rumors about that guy too, right?”

“The… transfer student, was it?” Kasumi recalled, tapping her chin with a finger, “No, to be honest. I haven’t even heard any rumors.”

“Wow, really?” Ann's sheer surprise lined her face.

“It’s everywhere, just about as much as your status as an honors student.” Suzui said. Kasumi blinked a little in surprise. Really? How come she hadn’t heard that much about him?

“Uh, to be honest, I don’t really pay attention to that kind of stuff I guess.” She laughed a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. Ann and Suzui exchanged a glance between them.

“Well, rumor says he’s got a criminal record ‘cause he beat someone up and got arrested for it… so it goes anyway. As much as I hate to say it, he’s a bit suspicious. He was late on his first day, but I saw him coming to school that morning. Then he and Sakamoto-san were going around asking the volleyball members stuff.” Ann leaned into her hand on her hip, frowning slightly with a puzzled expression. Suzui seemed to stiffen at that, but Kasumi only barely caught it.

“People are quick to judge each other just because of rumors.” Suzui said, looking at her shirt again, “I think he might be feeling a bit isolated, because of all the stuff being said about him… Maybe he wants to join the team?”

“Yeah, maybe, but why would Sakamoto-kun be bothering with it? There’s something up with those guys… they were talking about something to do with Kamoshida.” Ann pouted, but she froze as she realized what she said.

“K-Kamoshida? What did they say?” Suzui looked more agitated now. Ann didn’t seem to want to meet her gaze.

“Um well… Actually, I’m getting myself worked up over nothing. It’s not even worth getting mad over.” Ann said quickly. That reaction just made Kasumi suspicious. Kasumi could sympathize, but honestly she just felt a little lost. Why would they be talking to volleyball members even if he had a record? Was he planning some prank? She couldn’t really imagine why. She didn’t even really know who “Sakamoto” was either. This conversation really felt like something she shouldn’t be butting into...

“Erm, I should really be going.” Kasumi said, stepping backwards a bit. Suzui and Ann looked up in surprise.

“Oh, sorry to keep you!” Ann apologized first and Suzui returned it with a nod.

“Good luck at your next meet, Yoshizawa-san.” Suzui waved in goodbye. Kasumi returned it with a strained smile before pivoting on her heel. She continued her way towards the school’s entrance, though her mind was buzzing. What exactly was that weird tension in the air between them? Not to mention all this commotion about a student with a criminal record… She was practically the antithesis of that; a spotless record and absolved from pretty much any extracurricular activities as long as she could focus on gymnastics. As she moved, however, she could barely hear Suzui’s voice among the crowd of students.

“Hey, Ann, have you heard of ‘ _Kasumi_ Yoshizawa’?”

Kasumi’s pace quickened. As she headed towards the entrance, she passed by an irritated Kamoshida. The scowl on his face was enough for any student to sidestep away from him. However, she kept moving forward before stopping just near the entrance. A boy with covered in similar bruises to Suzui’s moved past her, but it wasn’t him who stopped her. Her feet suddenly felt frozen in place, staring out towards the main hallway. There was a boy with blonde hair and another with black frizzy hair and a pair of thick rimmed glasses.

Normally, Kasumi wouldn’t have paid them any mind and continued on her way… but something stirred in her heart staring at the black-haired boy in particular. It filled her brain with static, like there was something there among the fuzz but she couldn’t quite make out what it was. Just as she was focusing, her phone buzzed in her pocket startling her out of her stupor. She reached into her pocket, pushing the side button to open the screen. Just from her coach apparently… she better hurry.

Kasumi steeled her resolve with a breath. Why was she getting anxious? She didn’t know him, she was sure of it! If she did, she would remember wouldn’t she? She moved in those same long strides she was doing earlier. She walked past them, but found herself looking towards the frizzy haired boy again. Their eyes met briefly, Kasumi’s widening just slightly. What surprised her more was not the fact she felt she recognized him, but was the fact _he_ seemed surprised to see her.

As she exited the school, she couldn’t help but feel his eyes were still on her the whole time.

***

**CONTACT:** Sakamoto, Ryuji  
**TOPIC:** hey this dont…  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
**RS:** hey this dont make any damn sense.  
**RS:** the principal and even the parents know about the abuse.  
**RS:** why aint anybody speakin up?!  
**AK:** They’re afraid of Kamoshida.  
**AK:** Not to mention the school has a lot to lose if their Olympic Medalist is found out to be a sexual harasser and a physical abuser.  
**AK:** He’s the one who made the volleyball team famous.  
**RS:** ugh what a load of bull!  
**RS:** just because hes famous n shit doesnt give him the right to do whatever he wants!  
**RS:** hes beating kids up and all theyre allowed to do is endure!  
**RS:** this shit pisses me off!  
**RS:** and his follower doesnt give a single shit…  
**AK:** You mean Takamaki?  
**RS:** yeah  
**AK:** I think you’ve got that backwards…  
**RS:** what you talking about? havent you heard the rumors about her?  
**RS:** everybody knows shes all buddy buddy with kamoshida…  
**AK:** You really think that?  
**RS:** well…  
**RS:** you saw how she acted when we brought up kamoshida  
**RS:** we saw that weird cognawhatever of her in kamoshidas palace too!  
**RS:** but if she found out the truth maybe she'd change…  
**AK:** Cognitive versions don’t completely represent the people that are being portrayed.  
**AK:** I don’t think we should write off her warning either.  
**RS:** she just said that to protect kamoshidas ass  
**RS:** whatever it dont matter that much right now  
**RS:** its not like we can get her to talk about kamoshida either…  
**RS:** wait thats it!  
**AK:** What?  
**RS:** if we can find someone else to talk to kamoshida then maybe we got a shot  
**AK:** Didn’t we try that already today?  
**RS:** we only barely got anything out of mishima and the other volleyball guys  
**RS:** we just need to find someone who knows about it but isnt involved  
**AK:** I still think stealing his treasure is our only option.  
**AK:** We came back pretty empty handed after all.  
**AK:** The principal nor the student’s parents will do anything, so even if we showed some sort of evidence, Kamoshida’s misdeeds would just get covered up.  
**RS:** listen dude  
**RS:** its not that i doubt you  
**RS:** not after seein inside that twisted guys head  
**RS:** i just… dont wanna exhaust all our options OK?  
**RS:** that palace mumbo jumbo is a last resort  
**RS:** if he really could die i want to try other options first.  
**RS:** and we’re riskin our necks even with personas.  
**RS:** we were close to gettin killed last time until i got mine and we booked it out of there  
**AK:** You’re surprisingly thoughtful about all this.  
**RS:** whats that supposed to mean?!  
**RS:** with all this crazy shit i cant even sleep  
**RS:** i keep seeing that place every time i try… and it just makes me even more pissed off!  
**RS:** i think youre the one who needs to think more  
**RS:** you know we could get killed right?  
**AK:** I know.  
**AK:** I’m not going to let that happen though.  
**AK:** My word is all I have, but I swear to you I’ll never let that happen.  
**AK:** Besides, I’m only bringing up the Palace because it's the last resort.  
**AK:** Kamoshida has gotten away with this shit for too long. He can’t be allowed to keep getting away with this.  
**AK:** That being said...  
**AK:** I don’t want to kill him either. We have to take this seriously.  
**RS:** man thats heavy…  
**RS:** still...  
**RS:** one more day.  
**RS:** thats all i ask.  
**AK:** Fine.  
**AK:** But if we can’t squeeze out any more information, we try the treasure route.  
**RS:** now we’re talkin!  
**RS:** thanks man.  
**RS:** ive got an idea of who i can ask about it tomorrow during break  
**RS:** actually do u know anything about that honors student?  
**AK:** Honors student?  
**RS:** yknow… uhh…  
**RS:** ...dammit now i forgot her name  
**RS:** yoshi somethin. her name was on the news a few times  
**AK:** She was on the news and you didn’t remember it…?  
**RS:** we saw her walkin home from the main hall today  
**RS:** shut up dude!  
**RS:** anyway i was gonna ask if you knew if she was involved with kamoshida too but if you dont know her then forget it.  
**AK:** ...wait that was her?  
**AK:** Do you know her?  
**RS:** me? nah  
**RS:** theres a bunch of talk about her though  
**AK:** ...Really?  
**RS:** uh yeah? you use your ears for somethin man?  
**RS:** i think shes in a different sports thing anyway but kamoshidas a sleazeball so he could be tryin to get with any girl thats cute  
**RS:** you were lookin at her pretty closely so i just thought you knew her  
**AK:** No, I’ve never seen her before.  
**RS:** oh?  
**RS:** you got a crush then?  
**RS:** i didnt take you for the type to chase younger girls!  
**AK:** I’m not you.  
**RS:** youre really not letting up your punches man...

…

 **RS:** oh btw  
**RS:** your persona is super strong right?  
**AK:** Something like that.  
**RS:** i figured once i got my own i’d get some sort of… idk a power boost?  
**RS:** but i feel the same as ever.  
**RS:** was it like that for you?  
**AK:** Not really.  
**AK:** It kind of just… happened to be like that.  
**RS:** that so huh…  
**AK:** Something wrong?  
**RS:** nah nothin like that.  
**RS:** it kinda feels like… idk its pretty dumb  
**AK:** I understand.  
**AK:** You’re not exactly known for your smarts.  
**RS:** why am i even talking to you…?  
**AK:** Seriously, what’s up?  
**RS:** …  
**RS:** dont show that dumb cat this!  
**RS:** i feel like some part of me is… missing.  
**AK:** Missing?  
**RS:** yeah  
**RS:** idk how to explain it any other way.  
**RS:** like captain kidd is super cool n shit  
**RS:** but it feels like hes not as strong as hes supposed to be?  
**RS:** i guess i can only compare to yours and monamonas  
**RS:** it feels like im off balance or something  
**RS:** like some part of me is… unresolved.  
**AK:** Hm…  
**AK:** You sure you don’t want me to show this to Morgana?  
**AK:** He knows a bit about Personas.  
**RS:** nah  
**RS:** he’ll probably just say im overreacting bc im an amataeur or whatever  
**RS:** i feel a bit better getting it off my chest.  
**AK:** Maybe you’re just still tired from awakening to your Persona?  
**RS:** maybe  
**RS:** SHIT  
**RS:** I FORGOT TO BRING IN THE LAUNDRY  
**RS:** MOMS GONNA KILL ME  
**RS:** TALK MORE TOMORROW  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***

Ren spat out the blood from his mouth, the taste lingering on his tongue. Even if the power of his Persona protected him from instant death from being assaulted by the elements, it didn’t mean their fight wasn’t wearing him down. The shadow Ryuji’s onslaught hadn’t exactly been a walk in the park. While he was down a shotgun, his metal pipe wasn’t exactly any softer. He had landed a few good clean hits on his person already. Considering he only had access to Arsène right now, it wasn’t like he could easily get the drop on Ryuji’s weaknesses. Then again, this shadow was a lot different from the ones they had fought before.

The shadow Ryuji kept his human form. He didn’t transform into some monstrous thing twenty times his size. His power, however, felt similar to the bosses of the Palaces. The way he swung around that metal pipe wasn’t like he was batting at flies. Still, this one hadn’t tried any moves on him yet; only physical punches.

Just as Ren thought that, the shadow Ryuji was lurching his arm back for another swing. Ren raised his knife to parry the blunt instrument. They joined together with a resounding clang. The force reverberated up his arm, but the shadow’s own kept pushing back on him. The shadow wound its arm back up, slamming the pipe down near his right side. He managed to barely dodge it. The scent of metal twinged in his nose, but Ren shifted focus. He drew his gun, firing off a point-blank shot. The bullet dug itself into the shadow’s shoulder. Its arm moved a tad, but that was the only sign he had landed a hit.

Ren jumped back, dodging another swing of Ryuji’s pipe. He readied his knife in his right hand, quickly flipping the blade downwards as he gripped it. He swiveled on his heel and struck upwards, forcing Ryuji back a step. Their awkward dance had finally reached a climax; the shadow was starting to get sloppy. Between the gentle fall of the rose petals, its assault was savage and looser. Ren could only meet it with more calculated moves. All the while Papillon stayed back in support, calling out the shadow’s movements when it would benefit Ren.

“Wait!” Papillon suddenly shouted. Ren froze, but jumped back just as soon as the shadow landed a solid blow to the floor. It stood there, hunched over with its pipe buried in the cracked marble below. Ren took a moment to breath then. His eyes flicked towards his ally for only a moment before they were back on the shadow. It didn't move further. For a second, he briefly wondered if he had won, but he dismissed it.

He drew his gun again, tilting it slightly as he stared down its sights. They stayed stagnant for a while, neither moving nor breathing at that moment.

“There!” Papillon’s voice cut through the silence.

“I wanna…” The shadow was muttering. Ren’s arm twitched and he brushed his finger over the trigger.

“I wanna… be _famous_ …”

Ren paused. It was Ryuji’s voice. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind it was his. It echoed with a sense of familiarity mingled with oddity. The shadow’s shoulders moved and the being’s form hunched further. The black smoke enveloping its form twisted and coiled now at its feet.

“It’s building power…” Papillon mumbled. Ren’s eyes narrowed in, but he kept his arm steady.

“I’m tired of people lookin’ down on me…” The shadow hissed, “All I ever did was put myself out there for them. I busted my ass on the track team and look where that got me? Nothin’ worth a shit. That track scholarship woulda been mine if Kamoshida hadn’t fucked everything over for me… Now my leg’s messed up probably for good…

“I’ve been feelin’ like a burden ever since I was born… My ma’s had to suffer ‘cuz of my asshole dad and even me sluggin’ him didn’t fix our problems. We still live ‘n a shitty apartment ‘cause of what he did and my ma has to deal with a _delinquent_ for a son.”

The shadow lifted its head, golden eyes blazing in the red light. Ren flinched at the sight, but held his ground.

“But if I was _famous_ … that’d change everythin’. I could go t’ a good school and make her _proud_ of me. That’d shove it in every asshole’s face that I’m not a good-for-nothin’. But _you’re_ in the way of that.”

He thrust a finger out towards Ren. He returned it by staring down the sights of his gun.

“If I were the leader of the Phantom Thieves… We’d be showin’ off our identities. We’d make people _respect_ us for everythin’ we do for their asses. Then no adult would be mouthin’ off about some dumbass teenagers ever again…”

“Ryuji…” Ren murmured.

“Move over, Joker. ‘Cuz I’m takin’ over things from here!” A black wave of power shot out from Ryuji. Ren and Papillon flinched, struggling to keep their stances from the flux of power. Ren brought up his hand, guarding his face from the blast as it whipped against his skin. 

Ryuji coiled in on himself until his fingers grasped for his mask. Then, in a flash, he ripped it clean off. That motion was just the key in the proverbial ignition. In a blast, a figure appeared behind Ryuji not bearing the familiar sound of chains crackling behind him. Captain Kidd appeared in all his glory, his cape twisting in the wind Ryuji was kicking up. However, unlike the real Ryuji’s Captain Kidd, this one was colored differently. Replacing brilliant red was replaced with deep blue, and bright blue was swapped by burning red.

“A reverse Persona…?” Ren heard Papillon breathe.

“Reverse Persona?!” Ren asked quickly, but it wasn’t long before the shadow was moving again. With an “all too famous Ryuji brand” point, the shadowy Captain Kidd thrust out his cannon arm. A blast of lightning shot out towards the two of them. Each bounced away from each other, leaving only a singed piece of marble. Ren retaliated with another round of gunfire. The shadow flinched in pain, but it didn’t seem too damaged by it.

“Dammit… runnin’ low.” Ren hissed between his teeth, pocketing his gun for now. He only had two bullets left. Best use those for a last resort. If this guy wanted a Persona fight, then a Persona fight he would get.

“Arsène!” He called from the depths of his soul. The red demonic persona appeared with a cackle and a flourish of his black wings. Arsène coiled his hands together, charging a burst of dark energy within his hooked fingers. He launched it, a crackle rippled throughout the space. The scent of singed flowers filled his nose. From the smoke kicked up from his attack came Ryuji, metal pipe raised through his tattered clothes. He charged forward, knocking into Ren with the force of a rampaging bull. Ren choked out a gasp before he was flung backwards, his body twisting mid-air until it found the floor. He coughed as he staggered to his feet. 

Now, the shadow was bursting with power. Guess he had just been holding back and toying with him up until now. As much as he hated to admit it, neither he nor Arsène were exactly bursting with a similar amount of power at the moment. Papillon moved to his side now as the shadow gave them an odd moment to breathe.

“Mind telling me what a reverse Persona is…?” Ren coughed out before straightening up himself. Once he got to his feet, the shadow was charging again. The two met with a clash of metal, Ren parrying off his weapon with his own. Papillon had moved aside to avoid being caught in the crossfire, but Ren could still hear his voice.

“Normally one’s shadow cannot exist while they have a Persona. However, there are special circumstances that allow for one’s Persona to enter a state called ‘reversed’.”

More bolts of lightning poured from Captain Kidd. Arsène swerved in front of Ren, taking on the brunt of the damage. His body still burned with sparks of pain, but Ren kept moving. He kept up the touch-and-go approach.

“They’re feelings of unrest rising within a Persona user. It’s possible to separate from their ‘upright’ state if their feelings are strong enough. They’re identical to their ‘upright’ state so you shouldn’t have to worry about unknown weaknesses.”

Arsène shot into the air. He swizzled downward before making direct contact with Captain Kidd. The two struggled just as their counterparts below did. While Ren had more questions, there wasn’t much time for that now. He had to focus on the battle in front of him. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead as he pushed the shadow back once again. Arsène flung the reversed Captain Kidd back as well.

Ren stepped back on the back of his heels before rushing forward again. Arsene followed him as if he were a ghost, twisting his body into nearly a drill-like state. The red Persona clashed with the shadow again, sending it hurtling to the floor. It was dazed for only a moment.

“Arsène, now!” Ren called. He nodded and flew back towards where Ren was standing. From there, Ren closed his eyes and focused. Considering his power of the wild card was numb to this place, that just meant he would have to channel whatever he had into Arsène. He could feel his power building, stirring under the surface of his skin like a pot of water boiling. For now, he just had to stop this thing from trying to tear him to shreds.

With a flap of his great wings, Arsène began charging another ball of darkness. However, this one expanded in size, swirling with much more power than before. Ren could feel the wetness trickling down his face. He shifted his weight before opening his eyes. He didn’t even have to utter a word for Arsène to act. The Persona twisted his body once and darkness pooled around the stunned shadow. Ren only had to blink before it was coated in a powerful blast of red and black light. 

Captain Kidd and Ryuji both let out a cacophony of screams as they were doused by the energy. Before long their screams were silenced, and Captain Kidd was gone. Only the shadow remained in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Ren let out a breath, swaying slightly to the side as his energy left him. Arsène, seemingly satisfied with their results, burst away into thin air with a flourish of blue flames. He slowly made his way towards where the shadow laid. He had been trying to hold back on that one so there shouldn’t be…

“Hey, stay with me here!” Ren shouted, dropping to his knees instantly. The shadow’s body was fading away. What was once trails of smoke were now only specks flaking off him like cinders from a dying flame. It might be a shadow, but it still was _Ryuji_ … he couldn’t exactly help himself.

“It’s no use.” Papillon’s voice startled him for a moment, “He never was real to begin with.”

“The hell…” Ren was about to say, but Papillon cut him off.

“As I mentioned before, this place is using your thoughts… yours and the black Joker’s. The only real beings that were here were you and the black Joker.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh man…” The shadow Ryuji mumbled, choking out a faint laugh. It caught both of them off guard.

“Guess I’m gonna fade away in this world too…” Ryuji’s eyes were closed now. Ren leaned over him, gently reaching over to lift his friend upwards. He supported him by holding his back, but the shadow Ryuji never budged. He felt heavy like he was weighed down with bricks.

“What are you talking about?” Ren asked him, despite knowing exactly what he meant. This wasn’t the Ryuji he knew; it was the Ryuji from the black Joker’s world. How was that possible though? Then again, somehow both he and the black Joker ended up being in this bizarro world. Why would this world drag his friends here and not Ren’s? Maybe it was because of Ren. In the end, he could only speculate.

“Oh?” Ryuji opened his eyes, staring into Ren’s own red ones. It wasn’t long before he was staring at him in surprise.

“Oh I get it… you’re not that guy, huh?” Ryuji asked, tilting his head to the side. Ren froze, but nodded only a little. It wouldn’t do him much good to lie here. Ryuji could be surprisingly sharp when he really wanted to be.

“Figures. I knew that guy would survive somehow. He’s got some crazy ass luck.” Ryuji shook his head looking like he was almost pouting. Somehow Ren couldn’t help but agree. Why were they— _he_ —of all people chosen? Even Akechi had the power of the wild card, yet there wasn’t a trace of him in this place. Then again, it wasn’t like he had scoured this place entirely either.

“Ryuji… you don’t need fame to prove yourself to anyone. You’re already damn strong.” Ren found himself speaking quietly, “Sure, you’re kind of an idiot, but who isn’t?”

“You tryin’ to comfort me or somethin’? That’s cheesy as hell...” Despite himself, there was a smile on Ryuji’s face. That big goofy grin that Ren knew achingly well.

“I never forgot about our goal… but I still wanted to prove everyone wrong. I still wanted someone to acknowledge all the hard work we put into up until now.” Ryuji balled his hand into a quiet fist, “But I know I’m bein’ selfish. Fame just inflates your ego… I learned that the hard way.”

“We’ll have another shot.” Ren assured him, “The Phantom Thieves aren’t done until we let it be done… besides I think you learned your lesson for now.”

“Guess so.” Ryuji shrugged, “Well, if you see my Joker tell him... I’ve got his back for real now.”

With those words, his body completely burst. Ryuji was gone. The particles of shadow floated and congealed into the air. They condensed into a thin, rectangular object. Ren grabbed it between his fingers, flipping it to the side. It was a card, adorned with the number seven written in roman numerals. The red and black card gleamed with a somber light, different than the light in the car. Looking at it filled his heart with a sudden warmth.

Power coursed into his limbs and his mind warped for a moment. He could picture Ryuji’s smiling face in full view as he raced off ahead of them after a round of their training. An echo of words he couldn’t quite make out reverberated in his mind. Then, all at once, it was gone. The harsh red light of the train car suddenly softened to a gentler pink hue. The petals of flowers stopped falling, leaving only the ominous echoing of the train’s wheels clacking away.

“You’ve regained one of your bonds it seems.” Papillon said, startling Ren out of his stupor. He got to his feet, flexing his gloved fingers for a moment. He certainly felt different… but it wasn’t like Caroline or Justine were here to help him fuse Personas again. He wasn’t exactly sure how he could check in any case. He looked up at Papillon with a frown.

“Are you sure he wasn’t real?” He asked him, staring hard. The taller man met his gaze evenly, though there was a flicker of some unknown emotion behind them.

“I believe so. I stand by this world as a reflection of your thoughts… Perhaps the other Joker knew of his struggles, thus creating a reverse Persona effect.” He looked uncertain before turning towards the end of the car, “It seems we can press on.” Ren’s eyes followed. There was in fact a door at the end of the car now; had it always been there? He had been too caught up in the fight to really notice. Fatigue ate at his mind and body. Who knew Ryuji would be so damn tough when you had to fight _against_ him?

Still, something about it didn’t sit right with him. There was no way that was just a figment of his imagination. That thing fought way too much like the real Ryuji… but he couldn’t really do anything about it now. That other world was as good as gone without the black Joker in it anymore… and it wasn’t like he was a better replacement. While he was lost in his thoughts, the man in the white suit was moving towards the exit.

“Hey, can you at least give me a minute to rest?” Ren followed behind Papillon much more slowly.

“I can sense a safe car beyond here, so you will have ample time to rest.”

“Oh goodie…” Ren rolled his eyes a little. The guy couldn’t be any less of a slave driver than the twins when he wanted to be. The two grew closer to the car before the man stopped.

“What is it now?” Ren asked, a little more than irritated. Getting a proper rest was barely a foot in front of him, dammit!

“Someone’s inside the car.” He spoke calmly, though his body was tense. Ren mentally groaned. What’s next? Morgana attempting to run him over or something? With a sigh, Ren moved past him and pressed his body against the door frame. He drew his gun before carefully waving a hand in front of it. It triggered the automatic door, sliding open without another second. Slowly, Ren crept forward, keeping his gun in front of him as he entered the next car.

However, once he entered did he see another familiar face. He instinctively lowered his gun, surprise crossing over his face.

“Noir?”

Sitting in one of the train’s seats was in fact the person of the same codename; Haru Okumura. She looked up in surprise, obviously not expecting anyone else to be here much less talk to her. She wasn’t cloaked in shadow like Ryuji had been; in fact her pink and black attire and fluffy hair looked a bit out of place against the reddened walls of the safe car.

“A- Joker?!” She responded in kind. A purple gloved hand raised to her open mouth before she got to her feet. She didn’t seem to hesitate at all, bounding towards him with a dazzling smile on her face.

“Joker, it really is you!” She beamed, “Erm, it _is_ you right? Your eyes are a little funny but…” Ren lowered his gun before stashing it in his coat. Yeah, this definitely was Haru.

“It’s a condition.”

“Really? Maybe you should get your eyes checked once we’re out of here…”

“That was a joke.”

“O-Oh! I get it now!” The wind was knocked out of her sails for only a moment. She was still smiling, filling Ren with a warm sense of familiarity he had almost forgotten. It was a lot better than having that stick-in-the-mud following him around. Haru Okumura knew how to brighten any place with just her smile.

“Noir, how did you even get here?” Ren decided to ask instead, looking her over once. She was garbed in her thief attire, same as him so there wasn’t any change there. It was similar to Ryuji’s situation, but unlike Ryuji she didn’t seem to be overtaken by shadow.

“That’s what I’d like to know…” Haru muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. Her smile faded as she began to think. An uncomfortable look passed over her, at least from what he could see past her mask.

“I don’t really want to think about it but… It was after we tried fighting the Holy Grail. When everyone disappeared, I was so scared… but then before I knew it I woke up here all alone.” She looked up at him, brown eyes roaming over him with interest. Ren wanted to flinch, but held it in as best he could. So this wasn’t the Haru he knew either… He figured so, but somehow he was still disappointed.

“Where have you been…?” She began before she paused, “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t realize you weren’t alone!” Ren turned on his heel to see Papillon entering the car, dying it in a familiar blue hue. Haru’s eyes widened looking around curiously at the sudden change. The man didn’t seem fazed by her appearance, merely moving towards the two of them with an even expression.

“Exploring. Oh, and that’s Papillon.” Ren jabbed a thumb back at him, “We’re temporarily working together.”

“Temporarily?” Haru tilted her head to the side, voice piqued with curiosity.

“I am not actively participating in battle.” Papillon answered plainly.

“Oh, I see.” Haru nodded gently before bowing politely, “It’s nice to be working with you then, Papillon-san.”

“Just the name is fine.” He waved before moving past the two of them. Ren sighed a little before sitting down feeling his body recovering slowly. Haru watched the man in the white suit move further before she looked back towards him. She seemed to be lost in thought before she sat down next to Ren.

“Are you okay? You look pretty worn out.” She peered at him.

“It’s like that guy says, I’ve been fighting by myself this whole time.” Ren closed his eyes with a tired shrug, “I’m relieved you’re here though, Noir.” When he opened his eyes, Haru’s smile was stretched across her face.

“Me too. It’s been awfully lonely… this place has such an ominous atmosphere to it.” She mused quietly, gently placing her hands on her knees. They were enveloped in silence for a moment; their only company being the clicking of the train against the tracks. He felt his body growing heavy as he sunk further into the train car chair. Never in a million years would he say the train seats were very comfortable, but right now it felt like the perfect warm bed.

Ren hadn’t realized he had fallen asleep until Haru was gently shaking his shoulder.

“Joker?” She asked softly and his eyes cracked open. Her face was blurry, but soon came into focus. She looked concerned, but it brightened once she realized he was awake.

“Sorry… I was a lot more tired than I thought.” Ren apologized, twisting at a piece of hair from his bangs. Haru merely shook her head.

“It’s okay. Papillon told me about what you guys discovered while you were asleep.” Haru explained, “It’s all quite peculiar… almost like we’re in _your_ Palace or something.”

“My Palace, huh…?” Ren murmured, sinking into his seat a little further. Futaba had been inside her own Palace, so it wasn’t a ludicrous idea. However, he could still use Arsène. If those reverse Personas were a thing, though, that could throw a wrench in it. There was still so much they didn’t know about this place… and that Papillon guy too. Still, he was relieved to have one of the Phantom Thieves at his side.

“If you’re well rested, I suggest we move on.” Papillon strolled towards them, looking down through the eye slits in his mask. Ren frowned, rolling his shoulder and cracking it. Break time’s up.

“Hey, if I got one of my ‘bonds’ back, can I use my ability now?” He asked him. Papillon went quiet before nodding once.

“Yes, I believe your wild card abilities have expanded a bit. You should be able to obtain Personas of the Chariot arcana.”

“Oh, how wonderful!” Haru clapped a little as if she were happy for herself rather than Ren. It was hard not to find her cheer infectious. However, that left the matter of fusing personas. Papillon was staring at him for longer than he realized. Ren only noticed it when he spoke up.

“If you’re worried about Persona fusion, fret not. I have a bit of skill in the practice, though I am nowhere near the level of a proper attendant.” Papillon tugged at one of his gloves. Ren looked at him in surprise. Navigator, novice Persona fuser, and a world tour guide? Man this guy was the full package. Beyond most of those features being pretty nonfunctional. Haru glanced between them curiously, but she didn’t press the issue further. He’d probably have to explain himself.

“Let’s be off then.” Papillon nodded and took the lead, heading down the thin hallway. Ren could only sigh a bit. So much for “ample time to rest”. He stood up alongside Haru and began moving after him, until he felt something grab his arm.

“Hey, Joker,” Haru began, tugging on his sleeve slightly. It stopped him in his tracks, looking back at her with a tilt of his head. Haru looked down, biting her lip slightly before she looked up. Her determination had returned.

“You haven’t… run into anyone else like me, have you?” she asked, though she seemed cautious about what she was asking. Ren glanced to the side. So, he must have mentioned that shadow version of Ryuji. That guy had no tact.

“Not yet.” Ren said frankly, “But if we head further in we’ll have to fight more of those shadows...” He highlighted the word ‘those’ with his tone. Haru seemed reluctant, but she merely nodded. He didn’t exactly feel thrilled about fighting his friends… but if this was the only way forward, they didn’t have much choice.

“I won’t force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. The Phantom Thieves agree unanimously.” Ren added, earning a surprised look from Haru. She paused in thought, looking at the static filled monitors as if they held some answer. She closed her eyes before turning back towards him.

“Don’t worry, you have my full support!” Haru said, clenching a fist. Determination flashed behind her eyes and Ren felt just a bit safer under her watch. Haru was pretty beastly in a battle after all; her brute strength wasn’t anything to sneeze at. It almost made him wonder why she had so much trouble carting around bags of fertilizer.

“Besides, it’s not like I have anywhere else to go right now…” Haru admitted, and suddenly the moment felt a little less meaningful. Ren could only shrug a shoulder at her. Can’t win ‘em all.

With that squared away, the two moved towards the end of the car following just behind Papillon. With their resolve renewed, the trio exited through the door.

***

**CONTACT:** umakkut rotia  
**TOPIC:** rae e ldtiae nldha  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 **?:** Hey.  
**?:** Can you read this?  
**?:** ...Well even if you’re not there, will you hear me out?  
**?:** Yeah, I know it’s crazy to talk to nobody.  
**?:** It just helps me think a bit better.  
**?:** You should give it a shot!  
**?:** ...  
**?:** ...Someone’s life was stolen away from me.  
**?:** It's human nature to shut ourselves away from the horrors of reality… so that’s what she did.  
**?:** I know what I have to do but… I need help.  
**?:** I just don’t know where I’ll find it.  
**?:** But it’s also human nature to have hope.  
**?:** Wherever you are… whoever you are…  
**?:** Stay safe yourself.  
**?:** I’ve been chosen to protect this world.

...

 **System:** You cannot send messages at this time. Please try again later.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	6. VI. Five of Cups

Soft yellow and orange light painted the walls of the Big Bang Burger establishment. It tinted the room in its glow alongside the neon signs harsh light blaring from the counter. Akira sat in one of the space-themed chairs while Ann had taken the booth seat. They had only grabbed a couple of glasses of water, though in all honesty it was mostly for Ann. She seemed much calmer now that they were seated, though her gaze didn’t meet his own.

Just like he had before, he had overheard Ann’s conversation with Kamoshida on his way home from school that day. The puffy redness of her eyes was enough to tell him that something was wrong, even if he hadn’t heard the entire conversation. With her adamant assurance that nothing was wrong, he still chased her down all the same. He couldn’t leave her alone a _second_ time. 

That, and Morgana had pestered him to follow after her too. Even before meeting her in the Palace, that cat was already smitten with her. Akira was just lucky she had agreed to come with him here after everything was said and done.

Earlier that day hadn’t led to the most fruitful of investigations. Ryuji was still hellbent on pinning Kamoshida down with one of the kids that was being abused, but it didn’t seem to lead anywhere. He had already ranted about it over text… _still_ , in fact, if the buzzing in his pocket was anything to go by. Ryuji’s surprisingly smart idea had been talking to Ann as someone who wasn’t affiliated with the volleyball team. Of course Akira already knew she had connections to him, in more egregious ways than needed to be said; even if most of them were buried in rumor.

Ryuji had also mentioned talking to Shiho Suzui, Ann’s best friend, and not getting anything out of her either. His idea went further that if they could get Ann to talk about Kamoshida to Suzui, then they would have their evidence. On paper, it was a sound plan. However, life never really worked the way one expected. At one point, Morgana would have appeared to them to talk to them about stealing Kamoshida’s treasure thus cutting out the middle man. Now, however, Morgana was already sitting alongside him. Getting Ann’s help would be a lot easier now that he knew what to say.

As if it were a twist of fate, Akira had bumped into Suzui earlier that day too. He had found himself freezing up when she was talking to him. In the past, he never would have guessed she would be pushed to nearly kill herself. It wasn’t like he knew her very well in the first place, but the memories of her near death haunted him. There was still time they could enter the Palace before Suzui hurt herself. In the end, she was the one comforting _him_ about being isolated from his peers.

While he didn’t know Suzui very well, she was Ann’s dearest friend. Even if she wasn’t, there was no excuse for Kamoshida to push her to her breaking point. Those alone were reasons enough for entering the Palace sooner. While he was wracking his brain for some sort of push he could give her not to give in, she was already walking away. In the end, Ryuji hadn’t come up with anything either and decided to resign for the day. He mentioned finally being set on the Palace idea, so that was a step in the right direction.

Still, it left him with an opportunity with Ann here at Big Bang Burger. This was their first proper meeting after all… well besides the crying stint he had done. It was funny how fate wormed its way into these types of situations. Chihaya would be stewing her brain over trying to make sense of it all. If he could talk to Ann, it may be possible she could prevent something awful happening to Suzui. It was worth a shot anyway… A two birds with one stone approach. He felt a twinge of guilt in his heart for using a vulnerable moment for Ann like this, but he would just hope she could forgive him.

His foot accidentally nudged his bag between their stressed silence. He noticed the bag didn’t feel as heavy as he expected. He blinked, realizing he hadn’t heard Morgana say anything in awhile. He spared a glance downward, only to see the zipper had been undone. Guess Morgana had stepped out… He probably wanted to give the two of them some privacy, even if they were sitting in a public burger joint.

“You’re such a weird guy…” Ann finally mumbled, snapping him free of that thought, “I don’t have anything to talk about with you. It was just an argument…” She gently put an elbow on the table and held her cheek within her palm. Her eyes scanned along the tacky flooring of the Big Bang Burger as if the grout between the tiles were much more interesting than his face. Akira’s own eyes glanced to the opposite side, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses. Fortunately, the Big Bang Burger on Central street wasn’t exactly packed with many people right now. Most of the people were sitting a table far over from them.

“...With Kamoshida?” He found himself asking, continuing to fiddle with his glasses. That had her attention. Ann stared straight at him, startled by his words. She, then, lowered her eyes again towards the white table. Her face twisted into a deeper frown filled with frustration.

“You’ve heard the rumors then...” She asked him, “About Mr. Kamoshida.” Akira stared back at her, keeping silent. She shifted her focus on a lone napkin, pushing it idly across the table with one finger as she continued on. His eyes followed its path across the table.

“Everyone says we’re getting it on…” Her voice strained, “But… that’s so not true…” The words hung on the air only briefly. His hazel eyes bore into the napkin with his eyebrows furrowed together. The rumors about her and Kamoshida weren’t exactly unknown to him, even if he did have insight from his world.

“I know.” He admitted quietly. Her blue eyes lifted as she moved her head away from her cheek. Much to his surprise, she didn’t seem at all fazed by what he said. It wasn’t long before she was biting her lip and a scowl crossed over her face.

“That’s why you grabbed me before... _Because_ you knew.” Ann stared at him intently, her eyes searching his face for some sort of reaction. Fortunately, Akira was born with a natural poker face. He only nodded a little. That made her eyes narrow further.

“Who told you that?” She asked with an accusatory look. For all her cutesy looks in magazines, the real Ann could be downright scary when she wanted to be.

_‘You,’_ he wanted to say, but he held his tongue.

“Nobody in particular.” He gave a half-hearted shrug. She didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, but all the blonde girl could do was sigh to herself. Prying information out of him looked to be her last thought right now.

“I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point… That was him on the other line.” She was talking slower now, as if she were piecing her words together, “I avoided giving him my number… for the longest time… He told me to go to his place after this.” Ann grabbed the napkin, squeezing it in her fist like it was the real culprit of her aggression.

“You know what it means.” Those words hung on the air like the rumble of thunder before a storm. Akira could only look on with a frown of disgust. Kamoshida still was using her, just like before too. No matter what universe, it seemed like Kamoshida would always be some downright scumbag.

“If I turn him down, he said he’d take my friend off as a regular on the team…” She pulled her hand away from the table, gently pushing both of her hands into her lap. Her head tilted down with her large pigtails covering up most of her face. Her expression was unreadable from here, but it didn’t take a genius to clue in that she was in pain. Akira’s hands squeezed at the fabric of his uniform. Hearing her struggle to tell him her worries didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

“I’ve been telling myself this is all for Shiho’s sake… I can’t take it anymore...” Ann grew quiet, pressing back against the box seat. Her shoulders were shaking, unable to keep her feelings bottled inside any longer. Akira couldn’t blame her for it; not now or ever.

“I’ve had enough of this...! I hate him!” She yelled, startling most of the patrons. Akira glanced to the side, but no one seemed to say anything more nor approach them for making any noise. Ann lifted her head, looking at him through tears dotting the edges of her eyes. Her eyes searched his as if they held some answer, a key that would break her out of the chains Kamoshida had wrapped around her, but she was speaking before he could get a word in.

“But still… Shiho’s my best friend…” She cried out, “She’s all I have left at that sorry excuse for a school!” Those tears broke loose now, rippling down her cheeks. The fire in her voice alongside the way her face screwed in frustration made the situation tear into his heart. It was a sharp contrast to the pretty face everyone admired her for. He saw the ugliness of it, but Akira couldn’t find it in himself to truly believe that. She thumbed at the corners of her eyes, wiping away whatever tears were still lingering there before running the back of her hand under her nose.

“Please tell me… what should I do?” Her face was desperate; pleading with him with not only words but with her eyes as well. She was trapped, walled in by Kamoshida’s threats to ruin one of the few things her friend had strove for. Ann sniffed before shaking her head.

“Sorry… I shouldn’t have asked. It’s not your problem…” She said quietly. Her eyes were downward again. The streaks of those tears left marks on her cheeks. He gently leaned forward and pushed one of the water cups in front of her. It was a silent gesture, but Ann took it without much hesitation. She sipped it quietly before putting it back down.

“What… What am I saying? I’ve barely even talked to you before…” Ann’s voice cracked as she spoke. Akira gently shrugged a shoulder.

“You saw me cry before too. I’d call us even.” It was a small attempt at a joke; something to lighten the heavy atmosphere. Ann stared at him before scoffing a little.

“What? Does that even count? It’s not like you confessed your heart out like this…” Still, there was a faint trace of a smile on her lips. It had worked, if only for a moment. Akira brought up his elbows against the table, tenting his fingers together.

“Don’t worry about venting. It’s no trouble.” He assured her. Ann looked away towards those pesky tiles again, her eyebrows furrowing together.

“You’re so weird… Usually everyone just ignores me.” She sighed a little before her gaze was fixed on him, “Are you really a bad person? I’ve heard people talking about you, but… I just don’t see it. You tried to stop me from going with Kamoshida when you barely _know_ me…” Her reluctance was understandable. Someone with a criminal record wasn’t exactly deserving of the highest respect. It just came with the territory; even if the charge was a false one.

“I’m bad to the bone.” He pushed up his glasses with a small quirk of his lips.

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Despite herself, a smile cracked across her face. It was short lived, however.

“I kinda had a feeling they were all exaggerations. You seemed lonely— almost like you didn’t belong anywhere… Plus with that whole crying thing, I can tell you’ve been through a lot.” Her words pierced him in a similar way to Ryuji’s. His gaze averted to staring at a much more interesting rip in the booth seat. 

How odd was it that he would feel this way again? Lonely... huh? Morgana had eased some of that, and talking to Ryuji again had helped. In a way, though, he had stolen another him’s happiness for the sake of his own. That was what he had wanted in the first place, wasn’t it? Even if Ren had offered up the chance himself, he couldn’t help the twinge of guilt that prickled in his heart.

“We’re the same in that regard. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for me to talk to you.” Ann closed her eyes gently at that. Akira’s attention turned towards his own cup of water. It was no doubt because of her looks. It wasn’t exactly a hard thing to piece together too; what with her looking like a foreigner and all. With his attention back on the table, he saw Ann’s fingers gripping at her own cup.

“Is there really no way for me to help Shiho…?” She muttered, “I wish he’d just change his mind. Like, forget about me, and everything… As if something like that were ever to happen...” Ann leaned back crossing her legs over each other with a tiny sigh. This would be the prime opportunity to bring up Shiho. He had wracked his brain over it, but he wasn’t sure what exactly he could say. 

Telling her to be blunt about the truth might scare her more. It wasn’t like Ann and Shiho’s friendship was so fragile it’d break if she found out Kamoshida was just using her as a way to get into Ann’s pants, but this was still a delicate topic. How could he approach this gently?

“It could happen.” Akira said, tilting his head slightly. Tiny words to at least get his brain moving the conversation in an ideal direction.

“I wasn’t asking for a serious response,” She smiled again at that, “But I do feel a bit better now. I’m gonna head home...”

“Wait!” Akira said so suddenly it caught her completely off guard. Ann blinked in surprise, staring at him.

“W-what?” She asked and Akira bit his lip. _Shit_ … He really needed to stop letting other people lead the conversation here.

“About Suzui-san… Is there really no way you can talk to her about this?” His eyes narrowed in on her, “If you leave it alone, something bad could happen.”

“Something bad…?” Ann repeated, her face screwed into a frown, “W-what’s that supposed to mean...?”

“I’m worried about both of you.” Akira said, which wasn’t a total lie, “If you continue on like this, Suzui-san....” He trailed off with his own eyebrows screwed together. _‘She might kill herself’_ is what he wanted to say, but no way Ann would take that well. It wasn’t like they knew each other… and even if they did, it wasn’t a topic he could broach lightly. Ann had grown quiet, looking down at the table in thought. She stared into her water as if it were telling her exactly what to say.

“...Volleyball means the world to Shiho. She says it's the only thing she’s good at.” Ann said carefully, “I can’t… I can’t _ruin_ that for her. I’ll just… figure out some way to persuade Kamoshida for now.” Ann got up from her seat, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. _Shit_ , this wasn’t good.

“You really can’t say anything to her?” He asked again, staring up at her earnestly. Ann looked taken aback for a moment before she averted her gaze.

“What am I supposed to say…? I know you’re new and all, but it’s not something that easy to fix…” She frowned at him with worry painting her tone, “It’s better if I don’t say anything. I don’t think it’s gonna solve anything even if I did…”

“Then... give her more encouragement, so she knows you’re on her side.” Akira looked at her. _‘Please,’_ he made a silent prayer, _‘Please let this work.’_ Ann looked down at her shoes in thought. She turned back towards him with that same frown.

“Okay, I guess?” She tilted her head to the side, “You’re such a weirdo… but, um, thanks. Oh, and you’d better not tell anyone what I told you, okay?” He only nodded in an answer to her wishes. With that, she picked up her glass of water. She nodded her head once towards him in a sign of gratitude before she hurried out of the restaurant. He watched her go, sitting back in his chair and letting his arms cross over his chest.

Well, that certainly could have gone a lot better. In the end, he supposed he could have tried to tell Ann about the Palace… but she probably wouldn’t have believed him. He and Ryuji wouldn’t have believed it either if they hadn’t experienced it for themselves. Speaking of Ryuji… Akira pulled out his phone to read the text messages from said person he had missed. As he was scrolling through them, he found himself lost in his thoughts again. He was still worried about Ann and Suzui. 

Maybe the wheels of fate would turn in his favor, just this once.

***

Kasumi scribbled in her notebook, trying her hardest to pay attention to the lecture. It wasn’t that she wasn’t _interested_ , it was just.... Okay, she definitely _wasn’t_ interested. Somehow this one just wasn’t capturing her focus like normal. Since that day she had seen that frizzy-haired kid she had been mulling in her mind about it. Now that she actually strained her ears in the hallway, she heard the whispers passed between the students. 

He’s a gang-leader, he’s a thug, he has a bunch of weapons in his blazer; all sorts of rumors flung around her at high speed. What was truth blurred together alongside lies. Kasumi couldn’t make heads or tails of it, and part of her wondered why she was even bothering. 

The fact he had a criminal record made her wary of him, for sure, but then why would she know a criminal? Maybe she had just seen him on the subway or something? Kasumi thought hard, but her mind only came up with a big, fat, blank… Beyond feeling a bit hungry, she guessed.

She let her pencil scrape against the paper of her notebook idly during the lecture. She found herself doodling a picture of a cat. Apparently, there was one seen hanging around after classes had ended… She hoped maybe she could catch a glimpse of it when she practiced in the gymnasium.

“Hey, what’s all that racket?” The teacher’s aggravated voice suddenly made her alert. She straightened her shoulders, looking up towards the front of the class. Her teacher was staring out through one of the glass windows looking out towards the courtyard. Before Kasumi could see further, students were getting out of their seats blocking the glass. Some were shoving against each other while a few students had pulled out their phones, ready for the perfect picture of the situation. She could hear the voices of the clamoring students clearly.

“Oh my god!”

“Holy _shit_ , that girl’s gonna jump!”

“Someone call the Principal!”

“Hey, isn’t anyone going to stop her?!”

“Maybe she should do a flip on the way down if she wants attention this badly…”

“Quick, someone get a picture of her face!”

“Get back in your seats!” Her teacher roared, “Everyone, _please_ remain calm! No one leaves this room! Are you even listening to me?!”

Kasumi stood abruptly out of her own seat, heart hammering in her chest. _Jump_? What on earth was happening?! She struggled to see over the mass of bodies crowding the windows. Regardless of the teacher’s warning, students began leaking out into the hallway proper once someone had opened the door. The clamor from the outside was reaching those from inside of the classroom, and no doubt other classes were reacting to the commotion in the same fashion.

Weren’t the teachers going to do anything? Kasumi shoved her chair back and hurried outside for a look herself. The noise from the crowd of students droned on in her ears, but she soldiered on. She found herself being shoved towards one of the windows, having to stand on her tiptoes just to get a view of what was happening. Just as one student said, there was a girl standing on the edge of the school’s roof past the fencing. 

She must have climbed over the rail, considering how she teetered on the edge there. Kasumi squinted, trying to get a better view of who exactly she was. There wasn’t much use to it, though. The writhing students made it harder for her to see and the distance wasn’t helping matters. Even if they were on the third floor, they were still far away from where the girl was standing.

“Hey, I know that girl!” someone shouted within the sea of the crowd, “That’s Suzui-senpai!”

Kasumi’s eyes widened in terror. _Suzui-senpai_ … No, it couldn’t be. Kasumi didn’t want to believe that girl really was the one up there. She clutched her hand against her chest, hoping, _praying_ , someone would reach her before the worst could happen. She glanced around her to call out to some teacher nearby, but all she could see were students running down the hallways.

As she turned back towards the window, someone screamed.

Suzui’s body dropped from the wall. Kasumi’s heart squeezed and the air left her lungs. Horror clutched her with its greedy claws and sank down into her heart. She felt her limbs go numb. She tried backing away, but the terrified screams of the students grew louder. Students began shoving each other to get a closer look at where she landed, all scrambling towards the courtyard. She felt her body being bumped and pushed by students as they tore their way through the masses. The noise kicked up and the panic had set in.

No… No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Kasumi raised a hand to hold over her agape mouth. She was paralyzed. Something inside her cracked and she felt her legs turn to jelly. It was like her sister all over again. 

_Her sister…_ _Her sister… Her sister… She’s dead…. It’s her f—_

The words punctured her heart over and over until a static buzz forced that final thought out. Kasumi tried to shake off the feeling, but the world felt like it was falling away. She winced and covered her mouth fully now. Her stomach churned with an ugliness and her mind swam.

Kasumi wasn’t sure what happened next, but all she remembered were people screaming for an ambulance.

***

They sat at the edge of the Palace, poised and ready. Morgana was perched on top of one of the brick pillars while Ryuji and Akira crowded around the outside of it. Morgana’s whole speech about them being Phantom Thieves lingered on Akira’s mind, but there wasn’t much time for that now. Ryuji was already fired up, insisting they head straight here after what happened to Suzui. Their confrontation with Kamoshida had gone similarly as before; threats of expulsion to add to the cherry on top of the shit cake. Akira just felt regret pile in his throat and burn like bile. Even with all his damn knowledge of his own world, he couldn’t save Suzui from her fate.

He had shown Chihaya of ways to overturn her own fate… yet _this_ was one of those things still allowed to happen? What the hell even was this…? Maybe this, too, was another doing of that false asshole. He really did enjoy toying with him. Before they could make their way in, Akira’s feelings had made him forget one tiny important detail.

“What _is_ this?!”

Ann’s voice startled the trio out of their mental preparations. Their focus turned towards the shocked Ann, frozen stiff by sheer surprise.

“T-Takamaki?!” Ryuji yelled first. Ann’s eyes darted towards the skull-wearing blonde boy before she looked between all three of them.

“That voice… Sakamoto?! And… are you Amamiya-kun?!” She looked a little more than bewildered at the sight of them. Akira couldn’t exactly blame her; she probably thought they had walked in from a costume party or something. He shoved his hands in his pockets as Ryuji continued on.

“Wh-wh-why are you here?!”

“How should I know?! What’s going on?! Hey, where are we?! Isn’t this the school?!” While Ann, and Ryuji, were distracted with her pelting him with questions, Akira turned his attention towards Morgana. It wasn’t hard to tell the not-cat was practically swooning over the sight of her. With a knowing sigh, Akira poked the side of his head. It snapped him out of it briefly, though instead he turned a sharp gaze towards him.

“What gives?!” Morgana hissed.

“The MetaNav dragged her in.” Akira explained, gesturing with a tiny flourish of his red glove, “We’re taking her with us.” Anyone in their right might would probably say _“that’s too dangerous!”_ and they’d be right. However, Akira knew if fate really wanted to keep them on this railroad, they could possibly avoid some of it if they took Ann with them. 

It was risky, considering one of them was a fresh-off-the-boat Persona-user with the temper of a bull. If Ann was going to come back in here anyway, they might as well _try_ to keep her safe this time around. Suzui’s attempted suicide lingered heavy on his conscience, too. He hadn’t tried hard enough before… So he couldn’t sit around and let something like this happen again.

Granted, being kidnapped by Kamoshida had been the trigger for Ann’s awakening… He would just figure something else out. Maybe they would get lucky and she would awaken just hearing his drivel.

“What?!” Morgana shouted, turning all eyes on him. The not-cat shrank back a little before shaking his head vigorously. The words Akira expected shot right out of his mouth.

“It’s way too dangerous! You may think you’re strong enough, but the shadows are no joke. We’re already carting around this amateur.”

“What’d you say?!” Ryuji was already raising a balled fist towards Morgana, but Ann gasped loudly directing their attention on her once again.

“No way! It talked! Oh my god, it’s a monster cat!” Ann shouted, her eyes practically bulging out of her skull. Morgana looked taken aback by her outburst. He barely had time to respond.

“M-Monster...?” He whimpered. _‘Solid blow to the ego, that one,’_ Akira thought.

“You’d better explain what’s going on! I won’t leave until you do!” Ann leaned forward with a scowl, her hands balled into fists. The three Persona-users exchanged glances between them. Two pairs of eyes were uncertain, but Akira’s remained neutral.

“Hey.” He looked up towards Ann, who flinched in surprise. Maybe she didn’t expect him to actually speak towards her. Either way, Akira continued.

“We’ll explain later. Just follow behind us for now.”

“You can’t be serious dude?! I say we just kick her back out.” Ryuji butted in, shoving his way towards Akira. The black garbed boy just stared back at him. Meanwhile, Ann was doing a fist pump in the background.

“She’ll just come back.”

“Huh? But she’s no Persona-user! How she gonna do that?!”

“The MetaNav has stupid reasons. I’m serious when I say she’ll just come back.” Akira turned on his heel at that, sharing a look with Morgana. He frowned at him with his paws crossed, but in the end he let out a sigh. While they didn’t exactly have ESP, Akira could only hope he could read between the lines of what he was saying. 

“Fine… Since we have no other choice, we’ll just have to protect her.” Morgana said reluctantly, “If we did it with that bonehead, I think we have a decent chance.” 

Ann pranced up behind them with a smile on her face. She seemed to be taking her victory well. Besides him, Ryuji just scowled while staring daggers into Morgana. His head turned back to Ann sharply once she joined them.

“You’d better stick close then! This seriously ain’t no joke!” Ryuji warned her. Ann’s scowl quickly returned.

“You’re way overreacting! You’re not even explaining anything!” She huffed. It wasn’t hard to tell Ryuji was grinding his teeth together. Instead of making a retort, he simply shoved his hands in his pockets like a put out little kid.

“Your name is Ann Takamaki, right?” Morgana asked her directly. Ann looked surprised, but nodded a little.

“Yeah, but how do you know that? Who _are_ you? Your name isn’t really “monster cat” is it…?” She squinted a little at him. Morgana jumped before shaking his head wildly.

“No way! I am Morgana! Leave everything to me, Lady Ann!” He patted his chest proudly, practically striking a pose while saying so. Akira and Ryuji rolled their eyes. Ann muttered to herself, something along the lines of ‘ _Lady Ann?_ ’.

Before long, Morgana’s left ear twitched. His head turned towards the castle’s entrance, looking suddenly more alert. He hopped down from where he had been standing and motioned for the three of them to huddle besides a brick pillar near the school’s sign. They all listened carefully, faintly hearing the rattle of armor in the distance.

“The shadows have noticed us. You better brace yourselves, got it?!” Morgana turned back towards the group huddled behind him. All three nodded in unison.

“Good. I’m counting on you, Joker!” Morgana said with renewed confidence waving a paw towards him in particular. Akira paused. The word ‘Joker’ washed over him like a wave of nostalgia. It felt like an age had passed since he had heard it directed towards _him_. It was a short lived feeling until Ryuji spoke up.

“Joker? That a nickname?” He asked, raising a hidden eyebrow behind his mask.

“Don’t refer to it in such a lame way. It’s a code name. What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name?! I’m not down for that!” Morgana hissed back at him, “And there’s no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have on the Palace… It’s just a precaution.”

“Why _‘Joker’_ then?” Ann asked, looking at Akira expectantly, “Also ‘phantom thieves’? Really? You guys look more like you’re ready for a costume party… You barely match at all besides the all black.” She crossed her arms at that, looking a little bit more skeptical.

“Hey, these clothes are…! Ah… uh… what was it again?” Ryuji started, but quickly was whispering towards Akira for help.

“He’s Joker because he’s our trump card when it comes to fighting strength.” Morgana purred, looking proud once again for coming up with such an apt name, all the while ignoring Ryuji, “We don’t have time to be sitting here dwelling on that! Ahem, for Ryuji we’ll just call you… Thug.”

“Hell no! I’ll choose it myself!” Ryuji shouted. He straightened up, giving himself a small once over before nodding slightly.

“When it comes to me, it’s gotta be this mask. Honestly, I kinda like it. What if we named me after this?” He pointed to his face at that.

“Fine… Why not ‘Skull’ then?” Morgana planted his paws on his hips.

“Ooh! That sounds awesome! I’m Skull!” Ryuji practically beamed at the sound of it.

“More like ‘Numbskull’.” Ann mumbled, though Ryuji fortunately didn’t catch it. The newly named ‘Skull’ turned his attention towards Akira then, canting his head towards Morgana.

“What do we do about this guy’s name?”

“Mona.” Akira said. Honestly, maybe they shouldn’t have let Ryuji pick out a lame name for him, but calling him anything else would feel off.

“Mona?!” Morgana replied, “That’s really what you called me over—” Morgana stopped himself before rolling his eyes, “Well whatever. If Joker thinks it’s easier to call me that, then that works.”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Way easier to remember.” Ryuji commented, much to the ire of Morgana.

“Oh, oh, what about me?” Ann said cheerfully, pointing to herself, “I’m not part of this whole costume thing, but I want in!”

“How ‘bout ‘Pigtails’?” A grin cracked across Ryuji’s face. Ann’s face darkened even further.

“Hell no!”

“We’ll have to decide that later! We’ve already spent too much time dawdling here. If we keep this up there’ll be too many shadows for a proper infiltration!” Morgana cut in between them. Both seemed reluctant to listen, but Morgana had a point. They would just end up attracting the guards standing around.

“We’re Joker, Skull and Mona. Make sure you’re thorough when using those code names from here on out!” Morgana said before jumping out from their hiding spot. They followed after him, Akira quickly taking the lead of their merry band as they moved towards their infiltration point.

Along the way, Morgana had hung towards the back of their group. Ann stayed behind them as well, fortunately following their lead easier than Akira had expected. He could hear Morgana’s never ending explanations from behind him, but instead he focused on their route. There probably wouldn’t be much in their way beyond Ann not having access to her own Persona. If they were really lucky, it could be possible that he, Ryuji, and Morgana could just clean up without her… but something about that sat oddly with him.

They moved through familiar corridors painted in an ugly red and white sheen, accented by the bust of Kamoshida outfitted with the most rigid chin one would ever lay eyes on. It really made one think just _how_ exactly his skull was shaped. With that thought they stalked just outside the room from across the hall of their infiltration point. Akira slowly pressed himself against the doorframe, pushing open the door slowly as everyone huddled against its edges. A guard was there. Akira took out his knife, flipping it carefully.

With grace, he leapt forward cutting off the shadow’s mask with ease. It burst into its true form; a tiny Pixie. Ann hurried behind one of the nearby tables as Ryuji and Morgana rushed to his side. Akira drew his gun, ready to pull the trigger and end this quickly before a voice stopped him.

“W-Wait!” The tiny, screeching voice came from the Pixie itself. It held its gloved hands raised in front of it at the sight of Akira’s odd-looking gun. Morgana looked at Ryuji for a split moment, before they too pulled out their own gun and slingshot respectively. They surrounded the Pixie quickly, leaving it no room to escape.

“Seriously, are you guys brutes or what?!” The Pixie chided, looking around it at the guns trained on it. No one moved a muscle, though all three Persona-users kept their fingers close to the triggers of their guns (or rubber bands).

“To think we’d get a negotiation this early on…” Morgana was mumbling to himself, but Akira rolled a shoulder pointing his gun closer to the small shadow.

“H-Hey I’m just doin’ this ‘cause King Kamoshida told me to! You’ll spare me for that reason, right? You’re a good bunch of kids, I can feel it.” It said sweetly, wriggling its body just a bit. Akira glanced towards Morgana who pulled his slingshot band a little tighter.

“Give us an item then.” Akira said, “That’ll be your entry fee for us to allow you to live.”

“Oh, uh…” The Pixie suddenly flushed, looking as if it were going to start sweating bullets at any moment, “U-Um, actually, this was all so sudden I don’t have anything on me… I usually do though, you know?!”

“What a lameass cop-out…” Ryuji muttered, shaking his head.

“W-wait, what? Oh… this was not how I was planning for this to go.” Morgana exclaimed, “Uuuh, if that’s the case… Guess it’s time for you to go to hell.” Before they could get into place for their All-Out Attack combination, the Pixie screeched again.

“W-wait—!”

“Sorry, we’re in a hurry.” Morgana interrupted.

“No, wait! Can’t we work something out? Don’t kill me, please! Won’t you let me go?” The Pixie whimpered pathetically. It tried batting its eyelashes in hopes one of them would be swayed, but no one moved.

“I’ll let you go…” Akira stepped forward before pausing. The Pixie stared up at him in surprise.

“To hell.” He finished. Before he could actually pull the trigger, he was interrupted for a third time today. The Pixie let out a loud groan, rolling its eyes while crossing its arms across its chest.

“ _Ugh!_ Sorry, but that sounded _really_ lame. That was the best one-liner you could come up with?” The Pixie groaned, making him pause, “I say cheesy stuff like that all the time too, though. I guess I’m more like you than I thought.” 

Before he could make this thing put a cork in it, a small burst of wind kicked up from the Pixie. Akira could feel a familiar sensation coming from the shadow. An invisible connection, like an old memory, was stirring under the surface of his mind. Of course he had had Pixie as a Persona before, but this sensation was the same for any Persona contract.

“Whoa, I feel different! Something’s happening!” It said, staring at its hands.

“What the..?! What’s going on?!” Morgana flinched, putting down his slingshot.

“...Oh yeah, I remember now! I don’t just belong to King Kamoshida… I’m an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity’s souls… My real name… is ‘Pixie’! I’m Pixie! From now on, I’ll live on inside your heart!” 

The shadow began to glow with a warm, blue light. It did a tiny spin mid-air before it burst into a small orb of light. It flung through the air before crashing itself straight into Akira’s mask. It flashed once, filling his soul with something new, yet practically natural to him. His eyes flashed red briefly beneath the guise of his mask. It pulsed briefly with a flash of blue before settling back to its original white. The warmth of the blue light faded and his normal eye color returned. Ryuji and Morgana stared at him wide-eyed in shock.

“H-Hey, let go of me you creep!” Before anyone could dwell on it, the three Persona-users whipped around behind them. A soldier had ambushed them while they were negotiating with that Pixie. It held onto Ann’s jacket, brandishing its sword right near her neck.

“What are you thieves doing with the Princess?!” The odd voice of the shadow questioned.

“P-Princess?!” Ryuji and Ann shouted in unison.

“Joker!” Morgana called out and Akira nodded. Before they could attack the shadow holding Ann, another appeared from the door on the other side of the room, effectively trapping them.

“Dammit, get the hell out of our way!” Ryuji hissed. The shadow burst into its true form, transforming into the forms of the Bicorns they had fought last time they were in the Palace. This time, they matched their numbers; three on three. Akira could feel in the depths of his soul something swimming there alongside Arsène. His powers of the wild card seemed to return now. 

‘ _About damn time_ ,’ Akira thought quickly. As Ann struggled against the other knight’s grip, the knight was quickly backing out towards the hallway. She held out her feet in an attempt to slow him down, but there was no way she could win against a shadow’s strength. The trio tried to run after her, but the Bicorns moved in to block their path.

“If we don’t hurry, they’ll get away with Lady Ann!” Morgana shouted, “Zorro!” The abnormally large looking, compared to its owner, Persona appeared. He moved forward with a thrust of his sword straight into one of the Bicorns. Ryuji moved into position, whipping his arm out to slam his weapon straight into the horse-like monster’s black body. Akira pushed his fingers into his mask, calling the newly obtained Pixie from the bottom of his soul.

In a burst of blue flame, said Pixie appeared with a flutter of her tiny wings. A raise of her hand and a bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens (or rather from the ceiling) onto another Bicorn. While it was nowhere near the strength of Arsène, it would do. Ryuji followed his lead, calling upon Captain Kidd to rain down his own shower of lightning. With all the Bicorns being brought to their knees from their collective assault, they moved in guns poised. One snap of Akira’s wrist was enough of a signal for their All-Out Attack.

Once the shadows were finished off, it was Ryuji’s turn to give a little flex from their victory. While technically it was his second battle, it was his first real victory. Akira wondered briefly if he was still feeling off like he had mentioned before, but they didn’t have time to linger on it.

“Dammit, they got away!” Ryuji was the first to shout. He had hurried towards the other hallway, pounding a fist against the doorframe. Akira frowned to himself, glancing to the side. Even if they had tried to protect Ann she ended up getting kidnapped anyway… So much for that plan. Morgana crossed his arms against his chest, frowning alongside him.

“We’ll just have to rescue her.” He raised his right paw towards the two of them, “They shouldn’t have gotten far, but security is pretty high. You guys really ticked him off if he’s this restless.” The two of them nodded, though Ryuji kicked his shoe against the marble floor.

“Tch, that guy gets no sympathy from me! Pissed off or not, that scumbags goin’ down no matter what.” Ryuji grunted. Not only as revenge for Suzui, but also because their own expulsion was on the line again. Akira felt similarly. As long as they stole Kamoshida’s treasure, things wouldn’t exactly go back to normal but their justice would be carried out.

“I know where she’s being held.” Akira was moving before their conversation could continue. His two friends started back at him with surprise, but hurried after him. Benefits of an at least decent memory was he knew the Palace’s layouts pretty easily. While they weren’t always straight shots, it was easy to at least guess. As they moved throughout the Palace, Akira could hear Ryuji talking to Morgana.

“How’re we supposed to steal that treasure thing?”

“Don’t be so hasty. After we save Lady Ann, we’ll secure an infiltration route.”

“A what?”

“A path to the Treasure’s location.”

They moved quickly, confronting a few shadows midway. Fortunately, Akira could clean up most of them with just Arsène and his raw strength for now. The conversation continued all the while they continued their dance of stealth and battle.

“Hey, you said you don’t have any memories, right?” Ryuji asked, pressing against the edge of one of the hallway walls. Morgana had mentioned it before when they were just getting Ryuji on board with the original plan to steal Kamoshida’s treasure. Morgana’s eyes were on him but he only nodded a little.

“Then how come you know a lot ‘bout this place still? Both of you guys, actually, now that I’m thinkin’ ‘bout it… Seems pretty suspicious to me.” Ryuji hummed to himself in thought at that. Akira tensed slightly. He really hadn’t been expecting Ryuji to completely pick up on that. He probably should have come up with a better excuse… Makoto wouldn’t let him live it down as easily as Ryuji or Ann might be able to buy his story.

“Morgana told me the layout of this place.” He lied, much to the ire of Morgana for a second time today.

“H-Hey! Don’t pin all of this on me!” Morgana hissed before they were locked in combat once again. The shadows here weren’t exactly tough, but their conversation was a bit distracting Akira would admit. He drew his gun, letting a few bullets rip apart the shadows in their path.

“Whatever…” Ryuji grunted, bashing his metal pipe into one of the shadow’s skulls, “As long as we get back at Kamoshida there’ll be time to worry about that later.”

“Fine…” Morgana was glaring at Akira then and there, but the other just shrugged. The trio continued on, slapping aside shadows in their way as if they were mere flies. One would think that would increase the security considering how quickly they were moving, but Akira couldn’t find it in him to care all that much. They had to focus on helping Ann. There was no doubt the shadow Kamoshida was already trying to get his greasy mitts on her if he didn’t already. As they drew closer towards the spot, he could hear her voice.

“Let me go already!” Her voice echoed through the halls. The trio paused for only a moment at the sound.

“We’re close.” Akira breathed.

“Finally. Let’s get ‘em!” Ryuji barreled forward ahead of them. Akira and Morgana followed him close behind. It wasn’t long before he was speeding down one of the hallways, surprisingly agile for someone with a limp most of the time. He and Morgana followed after Ryuji quickly. Once they reached the door, they could only hear the murmurs of voices behind it. ‘The shadow Kamoshida’s talking to her by now,’ Akira guessed.

“What’re we waitin’ for? Let’s crash in there!” Ryuji urged them on. Morgana had paused too, staring at the door with a scowl.

“We’d better expect a fight.” He turned towards the two of them, “We’ve been fighting without a break since now. Are you ready?” Ryuji and Akira exchanged a glance. Ryuji let his eyes turn up towards the ceiling in thought. They had been rushing around, so while Akira was fine he wasn’t sure how Ryuji and Morgana were holding up. Ryuji returned to earth with a nod and a grin on his face, rolling his right shoulder.

“I’m ready to’ kick some ass!” He raised a fist proudly at that, “Besides, we can rely on this guy if we’re in a pickle.” He slapped Akira’s back with a force he wasn’t expecting. Thanks to his strength he didn’t stumble forward, but he did look at Ryuji with surprise. He wasn’t expecting him to count on him _that_ much; not after he accused him of being suspicious. Maybe he just bought his lie from earlier. Morgana could only roll his eyes at that.

“Let’s go.” Akira turned towards Morgana with a simple nod. The three looked between each other before Akira turned on his heel. He pressed his palms against the large door and pushed it open. They were greeted to the sight of cooing girls, dressed in only tiny shorts leaving their upper half exposed. Some crawled on the floor, while others had more provocative poses to match their demeanor. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to recognize any of them, what with them being covered in a misty, pink haze. Apparently, Kamoshida didn’t either.

“This is ‘effed up…” Ryuji muttered with wide eyes, “Is this what he thinks of the girls on the volleyball team?!” Morgana shifted, glancing up further into the room to the side. Akira’s eyes followed his from the floor to where Ann was being held. 

The shadow Kamoshida had propped her up on a sort of cross-looking device. Her arms and legs were bound to each end of it, she was forced to endure a spread-eagle like position. There was the man of the hour himself, Kamoshida. There were a few guards surrounding them, one with its sword pointed at Ann’s throat. The cognitive version of Ann was also there, decked out in only a skimpy pink bikini with a cat-eared tiara to match. 

As soon as they hurried towards her, the shadow Kamoshida’s smirk slid off his face. That disgusting scowl took its place, glaring at them coldly.

“Just when I was about to start enjoying myself…” He hissed.

“What is with this guy?!” Ann grunted, struggling against her binds.

“You little…” Ryuji was already stepping forward, a fire burning behind his eyes. A flex of the knight’s sword hand was enough to have him pausing. Ryuji, instead, bared his teeth. Kamoshida stared down at them before he hunched forward.

“...How many times are you gonna come back?” His gold gaze shifted from the trio towards his captive, “I bet you’re just like those thieves. You came ‘cause you’re pissed at me, huh?” Before Ann could retort, a smirk crossed over his large face. Akira held his ground, carefully watching the shadows for some way out of this situation.

“But, ah… I forget the chick’s name, but it's your fault she jumped, you know.” The shadow’s words stunned Ann into silence. Her eyes widened, staring at him with confusion and hurt behind them.

“You were so reluctant to throw yourself onto me that I had her take your place.” His sneer lit a fire in Akira. It wasn’t hard to piece together what he was implying. Ann’s surprise melted into a fiery anger, struggling against her bonds once again.

“You bastard!” She spat. One of the high ranking soldiers moved forwards, brandishing his golden sword at her outburst. She wilted slightly, only losing that fire momentarily.

“No!” Ryuji cut in, stepping forward himself. At that Kamoshida raised a hand, wagging a finger in front of him with that sickly smile.

“Take one more step and I’ll kill her on the spot.” He sneered. Ryuji bared his teeth, but he didn’t move any further. Akira felt himself clenching his own jaw at that. This guy really was just as disgusting as he remembered. Nothing about that had changed here. He still was the sole reason Suzui had tried to kill herself and the cause of not only Mishima’s suffering, but every kid under his thumb. He even had adults twisted around his finger, just for the sake of fame and recognition.

“Dammit…!” Ryuji cursed, squeezing his yellow gloves into fists. Akira stared down the shadow himself. The shadow ignored him, turning back towards Ann with an abhorrent gaze.

“Just sit back and enjoy the dismantlement show.” He gestured a hand and the knight’s crossed their swords against Ann’s neck. She squirmed back against the board, trying to lean away from the swords as best she could.

“No, don’t!” She yelled.

“Maybe I should start with her clothes…” The shadow snickered. That perverted grin was sliding like slime across his face. The cognitive version of Ann giggled, cooing over her “king”.

“You’re such a perv!” Her bubbly voice was practically the exact opposite of the Ann he knew. Desperately Akira wanted to shove his fist right between Kamoshida’s teeth.

“Dammit, what’re we gonna do?!” Ryuji hissed between his teeth, but Akira watched. He could see Ann’s attention flickering towards the swords. Her gaze lowered to the red rug below her feet. The fight she had been fueled with was slowly beginning to die out. Kamoshida’s words had latched onto her like a tick burying itself deep in her heart.

“Is this… my punishment for what happened to Shiho?” She muttered, hanging her head. The soldiers removed their swords, poised to strike while giving their king a perfect view. Akira’s eyes narrowed further. They were trapped in this same position again, with only Ann’s will able to save them once again. Her dejected expression was enough to stir the pot, but her flame hadn’t reignitied yet.

“That’s more like it. You should’ve looked like this from the start.” Kamoshida sneered.

“Shiho… I’m so sorry…” She closed her eyes tightly, hands balled into fists as the knights crept closer. Akira couldn’t take this any more. He stepped forward, only enough that Kamoshida wouldn’t notice. His gaze was too fixed on Ann’s body right now.

“Are you really going to listen to this asshole?” Akira shouted, startling everyone in the room. Their collective gaze fixed on him, freezing them in place. Ann lifted her head, staring at him in disbelief.

“Don’t give in. The only one who can properly dish out this guy’s punishment is you.” There was sincerity behind his words, giving them the power he knew she needed. The blonde stared down in thought for a moment. She digested those words, letting them boil inside her. He had started the spark; now it was up to her to fuel it.

“You’re right… Letting this piece of shit toy with me…” Ann’s eyes blazed with a new fury, “What was I thinking?” The sparks sprang from her eyes as her fingernails dug into her palms. Her heated gaze turned onto Kamoshida himself. The man sneered back at her, meeting her gaze with a leer.

“It’s like I always say. Slaves should just behave and—”

“Shut up!” She roared. That, in fact, worked. He clamped his mouth shut in surprise as Ann began to tug at her restraints again.

“I’ve had enough of this...” She bared her teeth at him, “You’ve pissed me off, you son of a bitch!” Her rage was boiling over now. The already tense atmosphere grew into a blaze mixed with the fury of a wildfire. Akira could feel the sensation similar to Ryuji’s awakening. The air pulsed with an unseen power, searing through them like fire to paper. Ann’s body recoiled suddenly against the cross. Her head flung backwards, eyes flashing a brilliant gold as she began thrashing wildly. The knights began backing away at her show, unsure of what they should even do at that moment. Kamoshida froze in place himself, his gaze enraptured by her.

Ann continued her savage thrashing, blood curdling screams ripping from her throat. Sweat rained down her face as she struggled to contain whatever power was pouring into her mind. Her body contorted and tossed itself against its captor, which was barely standing against her onslaught. Akira could hear Ryuji muttering a few words of “Holy shit…” beside him. Her body raised itself up once more before she went limp. Her head hung low, ash blonde pigtails obscuring her face from their vision.

“I hear you… _Carmen_.” She muttered slowly.

Akira gave himself a moment to breathe, not even realizing he had held his breath. The trio hesitantly stood straighter. Ann lifted her head suddenly. Another pulse rippled through the air. A red cat-like mask adorned her face, obscuring her visage beyond those blazing gold eyes. 

“You’re right. No more holding back!” Confidence rang in her voice like a war cry. Ann bent her arms before ripping free of her bonds finally. Blood pooled from where she had been digging her nails into her palms, but she was undeterred. Akira glanced towards Kamoshida when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. His face was caked in sweat, no doubt due to witnessing a _third_ Persona awakening in such a short span of time. Ann bent forward, grabbing the edge of her mask with only one bloody hand. She ripped it clean off without any struggle, sending a surge of energy blasting out from her. 

All the knights were knocked aside, as well as the cognitive Ann bumping into Kamoshida sending him backwards. The screams of the wispy pink volleyball team girls rang against his ears, though they were drowned out by the whipping wind. Morgana and Ryuji held their ground, holding up their arms to protect themselves from the blast. Her body was obscured in a blaze of white and blue, but Akira looked on undeterred. 

Panther returned with an inferno behind her. 

Once the light settled, the perfect vision of who ‘Carmen’ was came into view. A giant woman, grinding one red heel into the back of some heart-shaped man proudly. She held another on the hook of her finger, smoking a cigar that had long burned out by now. Her red Chiapas dress billowed out in the gust kicked up by her power, staring down at them with a nonchalant look.

Ann stepped forward, now garbed in her rebel’s attire; a sleek, red, leather suit with zippers that would make any J-RPG protagonist jealous. Her scowl burned into her features, channeling her fury towards Kamoshida. She turned on her heel, quickly twisting her body towards one of the nearby soldiers still frozen in fear. She kicked up her heel against his wrist, sending his sword flying. The cognitive Ann had been pushed forward by Kamoshida, probably as a vain attempt at a human shield.

With a surprising amount of grace, Ann ran forward and jumped. She caught the sword midair before landing, sending it slicing into her cognitive version. It barely let out a pitiful scream before it disappeared into thin air. Kamoshida scrambled backwards in fear. The golden knight from before pushed its way in front of its king, using its shield to cover him. Ann got up slowly from her crouching position, dropping the sword as she reached towards her waist. Sitting there was a conveniently placed whip, no doubt summoned from Carmen’s power.

Akira wasted no time and moved to her side. Ryuji and Morgana followed soon after, Morgana hanging back as Akira and Ryuji backed her up. She turned towards Kamoshida there, grasping the whip tightly.

“You know what? I’m not some cheap girl you can toy with… you scumbag.” She spat the words out as she pulled the whip taunt.

“Bitch!” Kamoshida retorted.

“You stole _everything_ from Shiho… You destroyed her…” Ann’s voice raised, letting her inner fire consume them with every word she spoke, “Now it’s your turn!” She pulled her right hand away from her whip, pointing towards him.

“I will rob you of _everything_!”

Kamoshida ground his teeth together at that. Before he could get a word in, his shadows seemed to come back to life from being frozen in place. Awful convenient for them. Akira readied his knife and Ryuji pulled out his metal pipe from behind him. They shifted into their battle stances, all the while Carmen blazed behind them.

“How dare you! Enough of your insolence!” The golden knight shouted back. The shadows burst into their true forms. They merged into the form of a Belphegor, bursting with a newfound power that had been hidden beneath their armor. The shadow Kamoshida was scuttling away towards the door, but there wasn’t much they could do about him for now.

“No, I’ve had enough of you!” Ann screamed, throwing her whip down towards the ground with a sharp crack, “No one’s gonna stop me now!”

“We’ll back you up.” Akira said with a nod towards her. Ann looked surprised, that scowl suddenly disappearing for the briefest of moments, before she nodded. She quickly bent forward, holding her whip in her hand while the other clutched towards the ground.

“Let’s go, Carmen!”

***

**NEW!** **GROUP SNS:** Sakamoto, Ryuji. Takamaki, Ann.  
 **MOST RECENT:** annnd that should…  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
 **RS:** annnd that should do it.  
 **AT:** that was fast!  
 **RS:** heh leave it to me!  
 **RS:** i figured we should get this set up first n for most  
 **RS:** good place for us to plan when we cant meet up  
 **RS:** you there man?  
 **AK:** Yup.  
 **RS:** nice!  
 **AT:** hey!  
 **AK:** Hey.  
 **RS:** okay with that outta the way  
 _Ryuji has changed the title to “PT Chat”._  
 **AT:** PT?  
 **RS:** Phantom Thieves!  
 **RS:** thats what monamona called us  
 **AT:** isnt that kind of lame sounding for a official title…?  
 **RS:** hey its nothin official!  
 **AK:** It’s pretty lame.  
 **RS:** what the hell!!  
 **RS:** fine you guys change it then!  
 **AT:** OK ummmmm  
 _Ann has changed the title to “PT Secret Chat”._  
 **RS:** thats LITERALLY the same thing!  
 **AT:** no way its a lot cooler!  
 **AT:** the ‘secret’ adds emphasis!  
 **RS:** ugh  
 **AK:** Speaking of ‘secrets’, we have a hideout we’re going to meet at.  
 **AK:** We’re planning on meeting there tomorrow.  
 **AT:** where?  
 **AK:** The school rooftop.  
 **AT:** hmmm OK  
 **AT:** we wont get in trouble?  
 **RS:** nah barely anybody goes up there.  
 **RS:** i think theres like one third year girl there once in awhile  
 **RS:** but she just takes care of some plants n leaves  
 **RS:** we can just wait for her to go home  
 **AK:** Have you seen her recently?  
 **RS:** not since we were there last  
 **RS:** why?  
 **AK:** No reason.  
 **RS:** dude thats super suspicious...  
 **AT:** OK so school rooftop tomorrow  
 **AT:** right?  
 **RS:** yup  
 **AK:** Also  
 **AK:** Morgana should stay in this world so it's easier to meet up with us.  
 **AK:** He’ll be staying with me.  
 **RS:** wait really?  
 **RS:** isnt ur caretaker like super strict  
 **AK:** He’s got a weakness for cats.  
 **RS:** damn pulled a fast one huh?  
 **AK:** Something like that.  
 **RS:** is that your catchphrase?  
 **AT:** lol  
 **AK:** Are you feeling a little better, Ann?  
 **AT:** i guess a little bit…  
 **RS:** dont worry  
 **RS:** we’re gonna come up with one hell of a plan to get that asshole back  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


**NEW MESSAGE!**

**CONTACT:** Takamaki, Ann  
 **TOPIC:** Thanks for everything…  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
 **AT:** thanks for everything today.  
 **AT:** i couldn’t say it in the group chat lol  
 **AT:** you saved me and i didnt even thank u properly  
 **AK:** You should thank Ryuji, too.  
 **AT:** i messaged him separately.  
 **AT:** feels more direct this way.  
 **AT:** o and morgana 2  
 **AT:** tell him when u see him.  
 **AK:** He says you’re welcome.  
 **AT:** o is he reading these?  
 **AK:** Only if I let him.  
 **AT:** i see  
 **AT:** anyway i wanted to at least let u know.  
 **AK:** Hey.  
 **AT:** ?  
 **AK:** No matter what that Kamoshida said, it wasn’t your fault what happened to Shiho.

…

**AT:** but u told me to support her…  
 **AT:** i messaged her after we talked and she didnt even respond...  
 **AT:** i was so blind… i didnt even realize she was suffering  
 **AT:** idk how i can face her when she wakes up…  
 **AT:** if she wakes up...  
 **AK:** With a smile.  
 **AT:** thats so corny…  
 **AK:** But it’s what she’d want.  
 **AT:** …  
 **AT:** i’ll think about it.  
 **AT:** ...thanks.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**NEW MESSAGE!**

**GROUP SNS:** PT Secret Chat  
 **RECENT MESSAGE:** hey im heading….

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**AT:** hey im heading out early  
 **AT:** feelin pretty tired after all that stuff today  
 **RS:** hey before you go  
 **RS:** what happened with suzui? you got any news?  
 **RS:** all the teachers were flippin out but not a damn one did anything...  
 **AT:** …  
 **AT:** shes in critical condition right now so… i dont know yet.  
 **RS:** dammit…  
 **RS:** sorry.  
 **AT:** its ok.  
 **AT:** im more worried about shiho than me  
 **AT:** plus her parents must be worried sick...  
 **AK:** She’ll be OK.  
 **AK:** I promise.  
 **AK:** We just have to believe in her.  
 **RS:** i mean thats nice n all but we aint doctors dude  
 **AK:** You’re killing the moment.  
 **RS:** you started it!  
 **AT:** well im gonna go.  
 **AT:** bye guys  
 **AT:** thanks again.  
 **RS:** gnight  
 **AK:** Good night.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**NEW MESSAGE!**  
 **CONTACT:** Sakamoto, Ryuji  
 **TOPIC:** hey dont think...

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**RS:** hey dont think i forgot about that palace stuff!  
 **AK:** I was kind of hoping you would.  
 **RS:** not today!  
 **RS:** seriously whats up wit you?  
 **RS:** your crazy strong n you got all those fancy weapons  
 **RS:** well fake ones i guess  
 **RS:** if were workin together we should be on even turf  
 **RS:** you get me?  
 **RS:** its almost like you knew this w ould happen  
 **RS:** call me crazy but its weird man  
 **AK:** Morgana went in during class and told me about the layout afterwards.  
 **AK:** The MetaNav you had access to after we came in, right?  
 **RS:** metanav?  
 **AK:** The cross between a colored contact lens and an app on your phone.  
 **RS:** oh  
 **RS:** wait it has a name?  
 **RS:** i tried it but it didnt look like it had one  
 **RS:** in my phone the title is just like F’ed up japanese  
 **AK:** I heard it somewhere.  
 **RS:** OK sure i can buy that  
 **RS:** since when did u n morganon get all buddy buddy anyway?  
 **AK:** Over some fatty tuna.  
 **RS:** what the hell you eatin tuna?!  
 **RS:** never mind the fish!  
 **RS:** be straight with me man...  
 **AK:** I took a shot in the dark with Ann.  
 **AK:** She's not the type to just leave something alone that happened to her best friend.  
 **AK:** It was safer for her to tag along… even if she ended up getting caught up in all this anyway.  
 **RS:** ...yeah  
 **AK:** I’ll take responsibility.  
 **RS:** you got a point  
 **RS:** man you dont gotta got THAT far  
 **RS:** ugghh  
 **RS:** whatever sorry for doubtin you  
 **RS:** all this stuff is so over my head im overthinkin everythin  
 **RS:** but if it means we can drop kamoshida on his ass itll be worth it  
 **RS:** plus save everyone bein abused by him  
 **AK:** Thanks for understanding.  
 **RS:** uh sure?  
 **RS:** im gonna go play some video games before bed  
 **RS:** night dude!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	7. VII. Three of Wands

The Phantom Thieves shopping list was finally complete, despite it seeming never ending. The meeting on the hideout was short, sweet, and to the point; they would need a lot more preparation before they began delving into the dark depths of Kamoshida’s distorted desires once again. Fortunately, they could cut the fat on the previous preparations. Akira had weapons already stashed away from… well,  _ who _ knew where they came from. It still left the matter of medical supplies. 

Fortunately, Akira had that one handled too. Two nights ago, Tae Takemi had been spending time inside Leblanc when he had entered from their Palace escapades. Reuniting with another familiar face was nice, though when he heard her speak something about it felt a little… off, he could say. 

It was the most minor thing that tickled in the back of Akira’s mind, but it was still there. It was good to know she was still in this world. From what Ryuji said,  _ Untouchable _ on Central Street was, for lack of a better phrase, ‘ _ untouched _ ’. He had spent the next two days of their preparations visiting both Takemi’s medical clinic as well as visiting Iwai. His flimsy excuse for exams still managed to pass by Takemi, but Iwai was more than impressed by his specific request for a model gun. He couldn’t be called a casual in that shop anymore.

Now, on April 18th, it was the moment of truth. Today they would be returning to the Palace intent on finding an infiltration route to Kamoshida’s Treasure. Akira found himself staring above the frizzy hair of Kawakami, directly boring into the clock in front of the room. Focusing on her homeroom address was already a struggle, especially when so much was swimming in his brain. How would the Palace turn out this time? They had skipped along a few steps, but things were moving just as they were before. Suzui was still in a coma and Kamoshida was still going to have them expelled. All the pieces, like before, were fitting back into their respective places.

However, there were still other things that didn’t quite add up. The brief amount of inconsistencies of this place compared to his own world made him think harder on it. This Metaverse had differences from the one he had known. Even if it was a different version of himself, how could things be warped? There was that girl with the red hair too… he had seen her before on that weird train. The sadness behind her eyes wasn’t hard to see then. Here? He couldn’t read her at all.

There wasn’t much use in dwelling on it now when he had plans to make. His pencil dragged against his notebook as he began planning out what he remembered of Kamoshida’s Palace. Since he had studied those maps so closely, he could garner a basic gist of the layout. He could see the twitch of Morgana’s ears poking out from his bag from underneath him. Akira dragged his eyes up to watch Kawakami continuing with her homeroom lecture.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Morgana whispered. It wasn’t particularly loud, but he could see a few students perking up at the sound of his voice. Ann barely shifted in her seat. Akira sighed a little to himself. Morgana must be getting restless sitting in here. It hadn’t been that long since they had met up, so he probably wasn’t used to hanging around here for a long period of time.

“Planning.” Akira muttered under his breath, low enough for Morgana to hear. The cat twitched his ears a little, looking up at him. Akira kept his pencil moving, brain wracking itself over the details he recalled from the past.

“Already?”

“I’ve been there before, so I have a bit of an idea of how the Palace is laid out.”

“Huh! Just what I'd expect of you, Joker!” Morgana purred a little at that. Akira could only shrug to himself at that. It didn’t seem very impressive, but he was always the type to make some sort of plan before they headed in the Palace proper. Usually, Makoto would be the one to finalize it and add her own notes, but considering the circumstances they would have to wait on that one.

“...Well, that wraps up the homeroom period.” Kawakami finished, her voice laced with disinterest. Her brown eyes scanned the room until they laid on a hunched over Akira still scribbling away. She cleared her throat loud enough for him to look up from his mini-map.

“Amamiya-kun. A word, please?” She tilted her head to the side, gesturing towards the door. He blinked once. This was new. It wasn’t like Kawakami hadn’t called him out before, but nothing like this. He got up out of his seat, joining her at the front of the room. He could feel the eyes of the students inside the classroom boring into him as they approached the door. He followed behind her silently in the hallway.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you. It won’t take long.” She said looking at him over her shoulder. Akira lowered his head a little, hands resting in his pockets as they walked. Soon enough they arrived at their destination; the Guidance Office. Akira couldn’t stop the frown on his face. What on earth was she wanting to bring him here for? If he had to take a guess, it could only be Kamoshida’s doing.

Speaking of the devil himself, the door to the room slid open revealing Kamoshida. He stepped out alongside another man, the guidance counselor of Shujin. He recognized him from his run-in with him and Kamoshida on the first day of school. Finally another person exited behind them slowly.

Akira froze. It was her— the girl he had seen in the train and at the entrance to the school that day. She stepped out almost too gracefully, eyes pointed downwards as they exited the room. Kamoshida was the first to pause, a grin cracking along that large face of his.

“I see you’re already on top of the problem I’d mentioned this morning, Ms. Kawakami. I appreciate the support!” His voice was cheerful, but Akira knew it was laced with venom. The guidance counselor behind him remained silent, merely eyeing the two of them cautiously. The red-haired girl lifted her head now, eyes widening in surprise. She looked taken aback, staring directly at Akira.

“Are you…?” She was speaking before Kamoshida raised an eyebrow.

“You know him, Yoshizawa?” His eyes bore into her at that. Akira blinked suddenly. Yoshizawa? Hadn’t he heard that name before…? ‘ _ Ah, that’s right. It was on the news _ ,’ he recalled silently. Ryuji was trying to tell him about it too. Yoshizawa, in question, turned her head, shaking it quickly.

“I-I... uh, no, sir.” The hesitance in her voice made Akira curious himself. He let his face settle back into a neutral look as she fidgeted with her uniform. Kamoshida shrugged his shoulders with a frown.

“Well, I recommend you stay clear of this one if you have any consideration for your future,” He shook his head slightly, “Remember the discussion we just had? There are a number of students in this school you shouldn’t get involved with…  _ This _ one’s at the top of the list.” His words held more weight to them than they should. Akira stood his ground, glaring back at him between his glasses frames. The girl blinked in surprise, staring back at Akira with confusion.

“Oh, the delinquent transfer student…?” She said it so frankly it almost hurt his feelings. Fortunately, he was used to this type of thing. A whole two semesters worth of that stuff rarely got under his skin anymore.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I need to use the guidance office.” Kawakami cut in with a frown. Kamoshida and the guidance counselor looked towards her at those words. The counselor gave Kamoshida a look and the athlete relented.

“Oh, pardon us. We should be going too—don’t want to get in the way of guiding this delinquent and all.” Kamoshida seemed oddly happy about that. His grin just made disgust build up in Akira’s throat. Was the honors student girl under his thumb now too? Is that why he had seen her on the train? Kamoshida began walking away with the silent guidance counselor in hot pursuit.

“...Please, excuse us.” Yoshizawa bowed gently towards them before she hurried along herself. Akira watched her go out of the corner of his eye. For a second, he could have sworn she recognized him… Maybe it was only from when they passed by each other in the entrance hall? No, it felt like there was something more to it; something he couldn’t quite piece together.

“After you.” Kawakami’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He nodded once before the two of them entered inside the slightly cramped room. He sat at one of the tables across from her, hands folded in his lap. Kawakami’s tired eyes watched him from her end, looking around as if she would rather be a thousand other places than here. Akira couldn’t exactly blame her, knowing what he knew about her situation.

“I’m going to get straight to the point: did something happen between you and Mr. Kamoshida?” Her once disinterested gaze now floated his way looking suddenly serious. That was a new one. She had warned him before about not causing trouble, sure, but enough to get him in here with her? Color him a little surprised. It wasn’t that Kawakami wasn’t aware of her surroundings, he just didn’t believe she would have bothered with him this much.

Maybe it was her caring nature poking its way out from the darkness that had swallowed her heart. Or, maybe, she was just catching on that something was afoot and she would be the one to clean up the mess later. He supposed the only one who knew that would be Kawakami.

“Why do you ask?” Akira said adjusting his glasses ever so slightly.

“Well there was that little exchange just now, but that’s not all…” Her eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance, “He gave me a brief lecture this morning, and your name came up. Something about the dangers of lack of supervision.” She didn’t seem to buy whatever it was Kamoshida was selling at the very least. Akira directed his frown at the table in front of him. His homeroom teacher let out a loud sigh, folding her arms against her chest. His eyes lifted to stare at her discouraged face.

“I don’t mean to pry, but… Just make sure you don’t go causing trouble, okay?” She tilted her head to the side. Akira’s gaze lifted to the books behind her head. He couldn’t actually commit to those words, not with what Kamoshida had done. Fortunately his “troublemaking” would be secluded to another plane.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Kawakami’s eyebrows furrowed again, folding her arms across her chest, “That girl outside the office— you didn’t make a pass at her, did you?” He blinked back at her dumbly. Where did she even get an idea like that? Then again it  _ was _ a high school and all…

“Of course not.”

“...Uh-huh.” Kawakami rolled her eyes a little. The disbelief in her tone painted a pretty good picture all things considered. The woman continued on, tapping a finger against her bicep.

“Mr. Kamoshida has a real close eye on you... Apparently, you’ve been getting involved with Sakamoto-kun. You seem acquainted with Yoshizawa-san as well.” Akira twisted a piece of his bangs. The Yoshizawa stuff was a pretty big stretch, but she was on the mark with his involvement with Ryuji. Kawakami was a lot keener than he gave her credit for. Still, she didn’t know a single thing that Kamoshida was doing through all of this. It almost shocked him how much Kamoshida wanted to vent at her about his and Ryuji’s involvement, yet how much in the dark she really was about the situation. Granted, it was a skewed perspective coming from someone like Kamoshida. 

Shujin had a shockingly nasty ability of covering things up, even to their staff, it looked like.

“Maybe you’re just naturally drawn to athletes?” She teased, tilting her head back at him with an even gaze. When he didn’t respond, she merely shrugged her shoulders.

“Sorry, bad joke.” She straightened in her seat, “That’s all I wanted to discuss. You’re free to go.” Akira bowed his head a little and got up out of his chair. When he exited the room, it felt like the tension had lifted if only for a moment. He expected her to follow him out of the room, but Kawakami seemed lost in her own thoughts. He couldn’t really blame her for that.

As he walked back to his classroom, it gave him a bit to mull over the situation. So Kamoshida was even trying to sink his teeth into the faculty that they were stains that needed to be rubbed out. He was no doubt trying to smear their names to influence the rest of the faculty on his side. It wasn’t like his, Ryuji and Mishima’s expulsion hadn’t been made public to some degree either. He could hear whispers of their shared reputations between students in the halls, so no doubt some of the teachers were already aware of their behavior. Kamoshida couldn’t officially bring it to the board until May 2nd, though, where it would be a ruling.

May 2nd… Their deadline. Akira made a mental note that it was 14 days from now. Any later and he and Ryuji could kiss their school days goodbye; not to mention Kamoshida’s reign would continue on. His hands unconsciously squeezed into fists. Time had rewound itself only to slowly tick down until his fated meeting with the false god. First things were first, Kamoshida needed to be stopped once again.

His days of being a Trickster would resume once more.

***

An oppressive atmosphere lingered in his mind. An eerie haze of blue crawled within the air and the light peaked through iron bars. Akira blinked his eyes open. He found himself within the cold cell he had familiarized with long ago. The faint sound of rattling chains were harsh against his ears but there was a soft voice in the distance that soothed it; a song to be specific. 

In all his time spent in this room he had never found the source of the song. It was a song that calmed him, despite the strange circumstances and the form this room had taken on. It was as if it was touching his very soul, holding him as if he were in his mother’s arms as a child. At the same time, it gave him peace of mind; a type of clarity one could only find in crystal clear water. It lulled him into a sense of calm despite the mysterious atmosphere around him. This was a place between his dreams and his reality; the Velvet Room.

Akira lifted himself off the uncomfortably hard bed, shaking his head gently as he glanced up between black strands of hair. There, standing ominously under the palest of lights was him; the false god. “Igor” he called himself. Staring at him reminded Akira he still had yet to come up with a name for this thing. False god was getting pretty tiring and whoever this “Igor” was, it surely wasn’t him. Part of him wondered if he ever existed in the first place… Something in his heart told him he did. The Trickster got to his feet, dragging the ball chained to his leg with him as he grasped at the cold, iron bars.

Caroline and Justine stood at either end of the cell. Justine was to his left, while Caroline to his right. There stared out in front of them, neither batting an eyelash in his direction nor acknowledging his awakening. His hazel eyes crawled back up towards where the false god sat. His large grin, large eyes and even larger nose all stared back at him. He was met with gently tapping fingers drumming against the desk. Even with the soft voice in the distance singing her aria, the silence between them was thick.

“The prisoner, Ren Amamiya, has returned.” Caroline stated curtly, cutting through the quiet just as sharply as her tone was. Akira was surprised they were calling him that here of all places. He figured one of them might have caught on if this was a place that housed the “soul”. Factoring in the supposed “god” had torn Lavenza apart, he supposed anything was possible. Perhaps it was just a case of assumption; after all Ren Amamiya was supposed to be here.

“Well done. It seems you have remembered my words… You truly make it worth rehabilitating you.” “Igor” said, that sickly smile betraying whatever it was he really felt. Akira’s jaw clenched. He was referring to what they discussed on his last visit here; creating bonds. At this point, it really made him wonder just what that god had to gain from all of this. Maybe the chance of sweeter victory if he built him up so high, only for him to crumble. 

In the end, it had worked. He cared about those bonds so much that he had risked everyone else's lives just so he could live in bliss. His fingers dug into the bars in frustration. A chance at returning to this world was the very thing he had wanted from the false god. What a dumbass he had been.

“Your face speaks that you have questions,” The creature went on without missing a beat, “The essence of the rehabilitation that you must complete will be explained in due time. Once you encounter allies who share your ideals and discover your place in reality, only then, will I explain it all. Such a day should not be far off.” He uncrossed his legs only to cross them again. The drumming paused.

Akira frowned to himself at those words. Explained in due time his ass… All of this was just a trap anyway. Not to mention, it would be nearly half a year before his true nature would be revealed to him. It was playing a long game, no two ways about it. Akira was trapped in this prison of cycling timelines if that other worldly train had anything of merit. When he didn’t speak up, the false god paused. After a moment, he started speaking again.

“This time, I wish to introduce you to the aid we are providing.” Akira’s eyes lifted at his words. Aid? Ah, yes. This was where the truth of his power and the purpose of their “guiding” hand of rehabilitation came from.

“The wild card ability.” Akira found himself saying aloud. Caroline quickly slapped her baton against the edge of the cell. The sharp crack of metal echoed in the quiet space. Despite the noise, the voice in the distance continued to sing on. The rattle of chains accompanied the disturbance in the air.

“Be quiet and show some respect!” She barked, “Our Master is explaining that!”

“Yes, the wild card ability.” The false god didn’t look at all deterred by his words. His expression never deviated from that grin. There was a prickle of surprise in his voice that Akira honed in on.

“It is a power that holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential. To that end, we must execute your Persona.” Akira’s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, all of this had a deeper meaning now. Was executing personas really the way it was supposed to be? Or was it just a more twisted version, created by this god on a whim. Considering his role in all of this, he wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.

“Personas are personalities that exist within you…” The false god went on, “Thus, you will only be discarding old personalities to have them be reborn as new ones.” The twins began moving, no doubt to get the equipment needed for the fusion process. Calling it fusion made it feel a little less morbid at the very least. This session was no different from the countless ones he had performed before. He couldn’t exactly back out of it now.

However, the false god lifted his hand. Caroline and Justine froze in place, each yellow eye staring at their master. Akira froze alongside them. The false god’s beady eyes were staring into him.

“It seems you have done this before, yes?” The false god asked, that grin almost widening by a fraction. Akira felt his heart quicken.  _ What _ …? His face remained neutral, but he could feel the sweat prickling the top of his forehead. Thankfully his shaggy hair covered most of it.

“There’s no real need to explain… This place is something like a window to the soul. We must know certain things to continue your rehabilitation. Your knowledge of the wild card ability means you are already aware of your potential. You’re turning out to be quite the subject.” His eyes turned towards Justine, “Justine. The Compendium.” The girl blinked before bowing towards him. She moved away just out of Akira’s vision. He strained his head against the bars to see, only to earn another sharp crack of Caroline’s baton rattling the jail cell door.

“Settle down, Inmate!” She snapped. Akira grunted, but relented. Justine soon returned with a clipboard, stacked heavy with pages upon pages of sheets of paper. He gaped at it in sheer surprise. That… that was the Compendium? Surprise marred Justine’s face; the first sign of emotion cracking across her cold exterior. Caroline’s own exposed eye widened at it.

“What the hell is this?” She spoke up, echoing all three of their thoughts. Justine turned towards Akira, her eye trained on him heavily. Suspicion was dosed in it, but Akira found himself unable to answer her directly.

“If you are not already aware, this is… where we store records of all Personas that you have created. In truth, it should be only a page wide with your current power of awakening. This… is unexpected to say the least.” She scanned the pages again, as if there were some prank hidden by Caroline in them. Akira couldn’t exactly blame her; he was too. 

How did his Personas carry over through to this place? Was it because of how odd it was? If his memories were intact… he supposed personalities could be said of the same thing. Maybe they were etched in his heart alongside those memories. Hell, anything was possible at this point.

“My my… So that is how they wish to play.” The false god chuckled, the ominous air not lost upon the Trickster, “I may have underestimated the true spirit of your rebellion. Your rehabilitation may go along smoother than I expected from you.” The false god eyes stared into his very soul as if to peel them back layer by layer. Akira swallowed. This had to be some sort of other trap. How else would this not look suspicious? Still, maybe the false god was stuck in the same predicament he was; unable to act until the proper moment. He still had a seed to nurture after all; one that had twisted him along his finger.

“O-Our Master is giving you praise! Show some gratitude, Inmate!” Caroline stumbled over her words, but her bark was as loud as ever. It seemed even they were left out of the loop. Justine said nothing.

“Perhaps this is a sign that you truly were chosen for the role of a thief. While your heart may be weak, it is showing great promise in the stand against ruin. We shall continue to watch over your rehabilitation from here. Continue to strengthen that heart of rebellion. I truly look forward to how the fight against ruin will play out.” The false god rested his cheek against his hand as his elbow propped itself against the table, “I had this gift as preparation of this event, but you have more than earned it by now.” He twitched his hands ever so slightly. 

Akira felt a pulse ripple through him, stunning him momentarily. He blinked harshly for a moment. He could feel the familiar sense he was used to prickling in the back of his mind; the power of the Third Eye. It had been there all along in the depths of his heart, swimming underneath murky depths, but now it was present. He could feel a warmth in his chest alongside it.

“That is a thief’s skill, allowing one to tap into their sixth sense and see what is hidden in the dark.” The false god explained, “I believe you can handle it now. May you continue devoting yourself to further rehabilitation.”

Rehabilitation this… rehabilitation that… this guy really went on for so long. Akira could only stare into the blue haze surrounding the cells within the room, trying to keep himself from glowering. His eyes wandered along the scenery, as if there were some key to freedom held within it. 

All of this was unsettling. It felt like something was being twisted here, not quite feeling like it was the proper way this conversation should have gone. Even the false god should have been able to tell that it was odd he had access to so many Personas. Maybe he just believed this was his true potential? It couldn’t be that simple. He stared at him longer, eyebrows furrowed. “Igor” never moved his eyes away.

“We will continue to aid you with multiple rituals as long as our Master allows it.” Justine said cooly, breaking the tension of their shared staring contest, “If you have any more requests, we will heed them.”

“You may have a lot of Personas, but don’t think you can just neglect executions! We’ll be keeping a close eye on you so you’d better make good use of it!” Caroline spat, tapping her baton behind her shoulder, “We’re still charging you the same fees so don’t think this is a free ride!” Akira nodded only once, wincing at the thought of an empty wallet. Before long he felt a wash of fatigue come over him, signaling his time within the room was drawing to a close. Back to the Palace for their infiltration.

His eyes struggled to stay open, but he stared out beyond the chair where the false god sat. His eyes caught movement there; something he wasn’t expecting at all. He could see the outline of a woman, faintly against the pale blue light. Her lips were moving, as if they were matching the song lingering on the air. He narrowed his eyes further, feeling his grip on the bars slipping away. He tried reading her lips, but it wasn’t any use. The world fell away into darkness.

***

Goro Akechi loosened his tie as a frown crossed over his face. His dull red eyes peered out with a blank expression into the busy streets of  Kasumigaseki . Any moment now Shido would probably be calling him, blabbing in his ear about his next target or some such. He already had some interview planned for earlier that day, one he was just about to leave for until Shido had texted him something about it being important. Frustratingly, he still had some time before heading over to the shooting area. He had no real choice but to wait for his call. His free hand tightened into a fist. 

Two years now, this game of cat and mouse had continued on. The elections were being held this year; the fruits of his labor were starting to show themselves. He had to continue this if his revenge would have any meaning… even if he was coated in blood by now. The psychotic breakdowns were circulating the news more frequently, now that Shido was getting impatient… or perhaps it really just was how corrupt this world had become. He supposed it didn’t really matter; it only was increasing his popularity just as dramatically. The amazing high-school detective who solved all these crimes…

His eyebrows furrowed together, cupping his gloved hand against his chin. Everything was going just as he had planned, with an added bonus of more popularity than Goro had ever expected. Even that detective—Naoto Shirogane was it?—was starting to recognize who he was. However, her intuition was too sharp. She had caught on to a discrepancy. While she hadn’t quite hit the target, it would be dangerous if she managed to pursue it further.

With his power, however, that wouldn’t pose a problem. Fortunately, for that woman, it seemed like she only had a passing interest. Her time in Tokyo wouldn’t be long anyway; not enough for her to puzzle out anything and mess with the elections in any case. Part of him lingered if maybe it would be best to take her out before she caused any trouble… but that would be needless. His targets were those poised by Shido, for now in any case.

“Hey, you’re Akechi-san, correct?” A tall man asked beside him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced to the side, staring at a fellow detective who had joined him near the sidewalk outside of the police station. The man had short brown hair, wearing a nicely pressed grey suit alongside a pair of red-tinted sunglasses.

“Ah, yes that is my name.” Goro nodded, smiling despite himself, “May I help you, detective?” There was a bubble of irritation that laid underneath the surface of his skin. The man had caught him off guard; he hoped he hadn’t seen that face he was making. His perfect disguise might have cracked then and there. The man didn’t seem too deterred by it. Honestly, Goro couldn’t help but wonder if those garish glasses even helped him see anything.

“Suou.” He said, holding out his hand towards him. Goro stared at it for a moment before gripping it tightly. He had a firm grip, he noticed. Only once their hands dropped to their sides did the man named Suou continue.

“The guys at the office asked me to give you this before you left.” He fished his hand inside his suit for a moment before producing a manilla envelope. Goro blinked at it, roaming it over before taking it in his own gloved hands. He unsealed it and gently lifted a piece of paper out of it. Ah, he recognized this. It was an autopsy report he had requested a while back. Not that it really mattered for anything; the autopsy was faked. He had only asked for it to appear he was doing some sort of research.

“Ah, just what I was looking for. Thank you, Suou-san!” Goro’s smile widened with trained ease. As ever, he was the perfect picture of a well behaved child. A trained dog to serve its master in this case. Suou was staring at him longer than Goro realized. He had just assumed he would have left him alone after that.

“Something wrong?” He asked, tilting his head to just the right angle. Suou looked startled for a moment, blinking slightly before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“You don’t find anything odd about that envelope?” Suou asked. Goro watched him for a moment before he slipped the autopsy back into the envelope. Well, that was a certainly suspicious question. The walls were immediately up, but Goro’s face never changed from a pleasant smile.

“Am I supposed to?” There was a hidden challenge in his voice underneath the layers of seeming ignorance. The man named Suou was staring at him with hard eyes. Something about standing next to him made the back of Goro’s brain itch. He couldn’t quite place why. Maybe it was a hidden detective’s intuition hidden under those layers of lies.

They were fellow detectives, sure, but this man gave off an odd air about him. It didn’t really matter anyway as long as he wasn’t interfering with his own work. His power scratched at him under his skin, as if it were warning him for some reason or another. Goro ignored it in favor of closing his eyes. Might as well lead him on a bit.

“I’ll admit it is a little odd,” Goro spoke, earning a surprised look from the man, “It’s one of the things I’m investigating at that. With all the appearances on television the police department are scheduling for me, I can’t help but wonder if it's just to throw me off the scent of something bigger. Is that what you were going to say?”

Suou stood there in further silence. His lips were pressed into a hard frown. Goro stared back at him evenly. His hand dug into his pocket, gently brushing his phone. Shido was late calling him. It would be the perfect opportunity to slip away from this unsavory conversation.

“Hey.” Suou was saying suddenly that made Goro’s attention turn on him again.

“Yes?”

“Make sure what you’re doing is really what you want to do. You shouldn’t go sticking your neck into bigger things than you can handle.” He put his hands in his pockets, staring out into the street for a moment. Goro was stunned into silence. First this man was hanging around for no reason, now he was spewing some life advice garbage? What a day this was turning out to be. Too bad this man had no idea what he was capable of.

“What makes you say that?” Goro asked him, keeping his voice level. In truth he was curious; what about his demeanor made such a question spark to life? Suou pushed up the bridge of his glasses again, as if he were in thought. Something about him almost made him look older. Honestly, Goro was impressed; for his age he didn’t look to be doing too bad in the looks department.

“There’s not much evidence behind it yet… call it a hunch if you want. Something’s up with some of the officers I’ve spoken to here. They want to use that power they have for their own self interests when that’s not even what our job is supposed to be. They’re a lot more willing to rely on children for work.” He stared at the skyline. Goro could see his face twist with an unknown frustration to it. Part of him wondered just what spurred on that train of thought. 

“Are you worried that children are more capable than adults?” Goro was barely being coy about asking him that. The man hardly flinched at the question poised to him.

“Maybe a bit. I just don’t agree with using children like this.” Suou frowned, “This department is already starting to rot from the inside… But it’s not like I’m stationed here anyway. I can’t exactly criticize it.”

“I believe anything is deemed worthy of some criticism.” Goro cupped his own chin, “However, I came here of my own accord; no one is being  _ used _ . Where are you stationed then, Suou-san?” His red eyes glinted ever so slightly.  _ ‘Used’ _ was an interesting way to put it…

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Suou interrupted that thought. His eyes focused on Goro as if he were looking through him. The younger detective merely raised a gloved hand as a sign of good will; one he wouldn’t put up a fight to pry that information out of him. However, it was a little dangerous that the police department's corruption was leaking through the seams. If he, an outsider, had already picked it up then what would it mean for his plans? A thought rolled in his brain; perhaps he would end up having to take care of someone after all.

“Mere curiosity.” Goro mused. The man gave him an icy stare. The tension in the air was punctured by the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. Suou looked towards the sky with another frown.

“I don’t know what your aim is, but give what I said some thought.” Suou said, shifting his weight ever so slightly, “...Take care on your way.”

Goro watched as the man walked back towards the station, hands in his pockets. His shoulders were lowered. Goro’s eyes narrowed slightly. Finally he was alone again… but just what was that whole conversation? Goro’s eyebrows screwed together in another scowl. Being ‘used’, was it…? Goro supposed he could phrase it that way. However, he refused to let Shido control him. No, he was doing this of his own volition. It was all for his revenge, wasn’t it? Yes, of course, it was.

Of course...

Suddenly, a pulse of power shot through his brain. Goro winced, stumbling back before clutching at his brown hair. He fumbled, but fought to keep himself upright, wincing at the pain. It seared through him like he was paper stuck inside a shredding machine, blades scraping at his skull.

“Wh-what on…?” He was mumbling before something flooded through him. It was murky, as if he were viewing a movie from underwater. The vision flooded his mind and assaulted his senses. There, amidst the fisheye view he was being given was someone clad in black. They were wearing a black flowing jacket and a brilliant white mask in striking contrast. The area surrounding him was dyed in red, only making the figure stick out more. He couldn’t quite make out the surroundings, what with his head throbbing. The vision swam in murky water, but Goro tried to grab hold of it.

Sweat dripped down his cheek reaching his chin. The vision showed the black figure moving, drawing a gun in his direction. His eyes were a stark red, almost ready to pull the trigger. A gunshot fired and the vision melted away alongside it. Goro let out a gasp, panting as he dug his fingers into his chest.

“Just… just what…” He found himself gasping. His phone went off, buzzing incessantly in his pocket. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, but fished it out. Of all the damn times…

“...Y… yes?” Goro sputtered out, trying to get a hold of himself as he answered the call.

“...What’s wrong with you?” Shido’s grating voice crackled over. Goro swore under his breath. Shit… He had to get a handle on this. He straightened up, letting out a deep breath as he tried to get a grip. His thundering heartbeat slowed and his breathing regulated. The throbbing of his head seemed to settle too.

“It’s... nothing. I was just late for my train so I had to run to catch it… Just a bit out of breath.” He was lying through his teeth, but when was he not these days? He just had to hope Shido took the bait. There was a brief moment of silence before he heard a grunt from beyond the speaker.

“...Whatever. I assume you’re available to speak now?” Shido was still a fool, it seemed.

“Yes, of course.” Goro stared up at the grey sky. That vision stuck in his mind even as Shido proceeded on his ever annoying rambles. A boy clad in black with a white mask… with red eyes not so unlike his own. Just what exactly did it mean, however? That power that surged through him felt similar to when he was given the power of Persona. Instead of a Persona, however, this was merely a vision. Of what, Goro wasn’t sure yet. Perhaps he would have to investigate this further.

He could only view it as an omen of things to come.

  
  


***

“Hey!”

Akira’s eyes snapped open. He blinked for a moment, glancing at his surroundings. The dark, oppressive atmosphere melding against the feeling the current world around them wasn’t exactly reality. The drab interior and the decor surrounding them told him they were in none other than a safe room inside Kamoshida’s Palace. Akira hadn’t realized he had been surrounded by the faces of his worried friends until he looked around.

“Is something wrong? You were just standing around all of a sudden.” Ann asked, crossing her arms against her chest. Akira leaned forward a little, shifting his weight while leaning into the hands inside his pockets.

“I’m fine. Just thinking.” Akira waved his concerns off. Morgana frowned at him, but no one said anything more. Akira couldn’t help himself; he was still thinking about the events that occurred inside the Velvet Room. That had gone way too smoothly for him to brush off anything there. That false god knew  _ something _ . He wasn’t going to let it go now. Morgana’s waving paw caught his attention, looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey, pay attention here! I’m gonna give you that thief tool I was telling you about!” Morgana’s voice snapped his attention right up. He stared down directly at the not cat with those words. Ann and Ryuji were staring, too, with interested looks. Once Morgana had garnered all their focus, he coughed. He placed himself on top of the table in the middle of the safe room, fishing in his utility belt for something.

“Introducing… a true phantom thief’s best friend!” He threw upwards with a dramatic pose none of them were expecting. In his white paw was a dark object, looking like a large bracelet. It was small enough to fit around one’s wrist, though it didn’t look like a Morgana-sized wrist. All three high schoolers blinked down at him.

“Uh… what is it?” Ryuji asked, pointing a yellow glove at the object. Thank god for Ryuji to be the fall guy to Morgana’s ire.

“It’s a grappling hook, you moron!” Morgana hissed.

“How the hell was I supposed to know that just lookin’ at it?!” Ryuji barked back.

“Yeah, it looks like just a regular bracelet.” Ann said, resting a pink gloved hand against her hip. Morgana puffed his chest out proudly at that. Akira could feel another explanation bubbling underneath that fluffy chest of his.

“That’s because it's for disguise purposes! Enemies can’t see this  _ and _ it’s for utility. The cable’s even strong enough to hold any person.” He turned his round blue eyes towards Akira directly. He used his free paw to beckon him forward. Akira blinked before leaning down towards him. The not cat grabbed his wrist. Before he had time to even protest, he was slapping the bracelet onto his wrist. It clicked into place easily, tightening snugly against his skin. He straightened up, flexing his wrist slightly as he looked it over.

“It’ll allow us to reach places we couldn’t before if we’re in a pinch.” Morgana purred proudly. Akira had to say he was pretty impressed. He knew Morgana had a knack for thief tools, but this one wasn’t something he had expected. Honestly, if he had this kind of ability why didn’t he use it sooner?

“Oh man, that sounds so sweet!” A grin stretched across Ryuji’s face at that, “Wait, what about the rest of us?” Ryuji frowned at Morgana before kicking his shoe against the floor at that realization. Morgana froze at that. ‘ _ That isn’t a particularly good look, _ ’ Akira thought.

“I-I... only had enough materials to make one.” Morgana muttered, looking away from Ryuji’s stoney gaze. He poked his paws together awkwardly. Akira could only sigh to himself. It sounded so typical he almost wanted to laugh. Ann folded her arms across her chest, leaning downwards towards the tuxedo not cat.

“So, uh what, do we just grab onto him if we run into a gap we can’t reach?” She asked, jabbing a thumb towards Akira. Morgana didn’t seem to have thought that far ahead. ‘ _ Poor guy _ ,’ Akira couldn’t help but think. His five minutes of praise were over quicker than they began.

“W-We’ll worry about that later!” He waved a paw as if that would erase her worries.

“The hell you mean?! I don’t wanna go grabbing some dude while flyin’ through the air!” Ryuji protested, pointing back towards Akira as well.

“Don’t worry, I won’t drop you.” Akira said.

“That’s not the point!"

“I said we’ll worry about it later!” Morgana cut in again, “I’ll get working on some other ones… I only managed to scavenge some materials from Mementos so those were what I had on hand.”

“Mementos?” Ann repeated.

“We’re wasting time here,” Morgana didn’t feel like elaborating just yet from the sound of it. His blue eyes were on Akira once again.

“You got some sort of plan, Joker?” He was looking at him expectantly. ‘Joker’ blinked before nodding a little. He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out the notebook from earlier and wagging it gently. Ann and Ryuji watched with curious eyes.

“It’s time to secure our route.” Akira smiled, “Panther, Mona, Skull. I’ll be counting on you guys.” All three stiffened at the sound of their code names. They nodded together before they huddled around their appointed “leader”. He bent down, pushing the notebook flat on the wooden table in front of them. Ryuji and Ann followed him after him, pushing against either side of him.

It was odd how nostalgic he was feeling, but he tried to remain focused. This was what he had been planning to do since he had arrived in this world. He opened the notebook to the page of his rough layout of Kamoshida’s Palace. His occasional notes in the margins reminded him of key points, but he was distracted by Ryuji in his ear.

“Damn, dude, you really went all out…” Ryuji whistled.

“No kidding… How much of this place have you seen?” Ann added, staring up at him. Akira blinked once to avoid her gaze, instead focusing on the map instead of the question itself.

“This is our current infiltration point,” He let a red index finger press against their current safe room location. It was before the hallway that led out to where Ann had been captured beforehand. They had skipped over it before in their rush to save her, but now that she was along for the ride it was easier to progress slower here.

“We’ll enter here and make our way along here. We’ll have to find a more accurate map to get a better idea since this is all based off of memory.” He dragged his finger across the corridor in question to emphasize this. It seemed straightforward enough.

“I’d say it's pretty damn good for memory.” Ryuji said. Morgana was staring intently at the map, his tail twitching ever so slightly.

“Hm… it seems like this place has a lot more layers to it than I thought. Teaching you amateurs might be more difficult...” Morgana was murmuring to himself, which Akira guessed Ryuji was failing to ignore. He could feel his indignation pooling off of him; though he probably could have felt it if he wasn’t standing right next to him anyway.

“Let’s follow Joker’s plan for now.” Morgana said, “Kamoshida won’t be as on guard as usual, but it won’t be a cakewalk either. Keep your guard up, everyone.” All three nodded at Morgana’s words. It was the signal to send them off onto their infiltration for real. This was the key moment in beginning his life as a Phantom Thief once again.

They crept through the castle corridors slowly, mostly so Ryuji and Ann could get their bearings when it came to combat. Morgana opted for being their Navigator for the time being, one he hadn’t forgotten even if Futaba’s skills in that field had surpassed his own.

The words  _ “Looking cool, Joker!” _ just didn’t ring as well as they did when Morgana was the one saying them.

Slowly, but surely, they were making their way through the castle interior. Fighting shadows and gaining personas was par for the course on these infiltrations. Their sloppy battle stances were gradually falling into form. Ann’s prowess with a whip was being finely tuned, so much so that he and Ryuji would exchange quiet glances to not piss her off. Akira had even grabbed a few familiar faces along the way in the form of Personas.

If Akira was being honest with himself, it was thrilling. He could feel his heart soaring to be alongside his friends again, to feel the familiar slap of a palm against his own as they performed a Baton Pass. In the end, maybe he had gotten his wish. A creeping feeling was sinking into his heart, that maybe this had been the right decision all along. Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana were still here after all. Akira shook his head violently as if that would chase the thought out. No, he had to stay focused; it couldn’t let the same mistake happen again.

One casually cheating with his Third Eye ability later and the Phantom Thieves had gained their first map. Well, their first piece of a map anyway. Morgana helpfully chimed in that this map, in fact, was incomplete. Akira glanced over the map, before noticing something strange. There was an addition on this map; one he didn’t quite recognize before. He found himself enraptured by what could possibly be in that new little corridor that had been added.

Was that always there and he just had never encountered it before? It could be possible. His memory wasn’t exactly a completely trustworthy source. Something in his gut was telling him this was another case of differences between the two worlds.

“Joker, we’re movin’.” Ryuji’s voice distracted him. He nodded once before folding the map and stashing it away for later. He filed away the location in the back of his brain for now. They still had plenty of ground to cover. The group continued on their way, only to be stopped by a locked door. 

Akira remembered this obstacle in particular; it was one that involved books of all things. One look at Kamoshida would just assume he was a meathead through and through, but he had to have had some credentials in becoming a teacher he supposed. All that was left was to find the books and return them to their proper places while avoiding some strong enemy nearby; easy enough. This puzzle wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out either. They had begun to scour the hallways when he heard Ryuji pipe up from behind him.

“How the hell’re we gonna find the damn way to open that door? We’ve been wandering around this area and all we found is a dusty book!” Ryuji griped as they moved out of the room.

“We just need to find the books and put them in the proper shelves.” Akira responded, not bothering to look behind him as they turned a corner.

“Wait, how did you figure that out?” Ann asked from behind. Akira paused outside of a room, followed behind the rest of the Phantom Thieves. When he didn’t hear any sounds, he opened the door slowly. Inside they were greeted by a collection of musty tomes lining the walls. The four of them walked inside, each pausing to stare at the collection. Most of the books’ spines were about specific female students or Kamoshida himself. All except for a few that sat abandoned on the tables lingering inside the room.

“Just a hunch.” Akira muttered. He wandered forward, already setting to work on the puzzle itself. Ann and Ryuji hung back, mostly looking at the books themselves with a grimace. Morgana hung near the doorframe, keeping an eye out for any more enemies. Ryuji bent down into a squat, letting his elbows rest against his thighs as he looked at the books.

“Who woulda thought Kamoshida would even have a book, much less a library?” Ryuji muttered, squinting his eyes at some of the covers. He pulled one out before quickly putting it back in.

“Hey, these’re all about female students! Gah, can this guy be any more of a perv!? Now he's a friggin' stalker too!” Ryuji growled, standing up straight with a solid punch to the bookshelf. It barely moved an inch from it. Ann crossed her arms over her chest in thought. She looked to be in deep thought before her blue eyes trained on Ryuji.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to know what to do? You got your Persona way before me.” Ann tilted her head to the side. Ryuji looked up at her sharply with a glare.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Mona and Joker already have it all together. Joker didn’t even need our help figuring out what to do next. You’re not exactly helping a ton in battle either, I keep having to heal you!” Ann leaned forward, eyes narrowing in on Ryuji. The blonde boy leaned back away from her, glancing to the side with a bead of sweat dropping from his cheek.

“Wh-what… c’mon I just got my own Persona, like, barely a day before you did! I don’t know what you’re expectin’ from me?!” He pouted back at her, “Besides Joker’s on a whole other level. It’s not even fair to compare the two of us.”

Akira paused at the shelf with those words. It was innocent enough; Ryuji wasn’t exactly wrong. Did he look like some kind of monster to them? Considering his strength, he supposed it would be a bit scary for any normal person. He had become desensitized in a way to Phantom Thief life. They were still fresh and new; not yet seeing the horrible ways this world distorted already corrupt people. Maybe he had changed too much.

Without another lingering thought, Akira slipped the King’s book into its place on the shelf. The sound of a familiar click before the rumble of doors cut off their conversation. The bookshelf at the far end of the room parted, revealing a hidden room. Morgana quickly joined them in the inside of the room, a smile curled on his face.

“Nice work, Joker!” He praised. Akira turned his attention towards the room himself as Ann and Ryuji drew closer. He already knew the unpleasant sight waiting for them inside. He put a hand out towards Ann’s shoulder, giving it a tiny squeeze. She froze in place, staring back at him with bewildered eyes. He met her gaze evenly before he walked forward. She lagged behind him with Ryuji and Morgana in tow.

Once they entered the room did the rest of them see the horror that was this room. Plastered wall to wall were pictures of Suzui. The eerily dim lightning didn’t exactly help the atmosphere of this room. Akira averted his eyes from the pictures in order to locate the “key”. He stepped forward towards the lone shelving unit in front of them. From there, he grabbed the “key” they were looking for; a medal. Underneath that was the rest of the map they were missing before. He turned back towards the three of them, holding both obtained items in his hand.

Ann rubbed at her arm, eyes averted from the pictures surrounding them. Ryuji still had his mouth agape in shock.

“All these pics are of Suzui?! What the hell…” Ryuji muttered. Morgana looked up from where he was standing towards Akira. Ann’s eyes turned up towards him, locking together once again. He could see the hurt behind her mask, but also the desire to put an end to Kamoshida’s sick actions.

“Let’s get moving.” Akira said.

“Yeah… If anything… I feel even more motivated to do this now.” There was a new power in her voice at that thought. Ryuji turned towards her and gave her an encouraging nod. He brought up a balled fist with a signature Ryuji grin to add to it. Before Ryuji could add anything, Morgana was speaking.

“Lady Ann is right. We’ll get him back tenfold for this.” Morgana chimed in, “You found a map right?” Akira nodded, stepping forward to give the map to the not cat. Morgana took it in his paws, scanning it briefly before his face brightened. 

“Ah, this is the rest of the map!” He purred, “And it’s got the location of the Treasure! Look!” The three remaining Persona-users crowded around him. Sure enough, Akira recognized the rest of the map as the remaining layout of Kamoshida’s castle.

“What’s this weird design? Is it a tower?” Ann asked, pointing towards where the Treasure itself laid. Morgana’s blue eyes darted directly where her finger was pointing, humming a little.

“Yeah. It’s a pretty big one too.” Akira commented before Morgana could get a word in. The not cat shot him a glare, but he ignored it in favor of straightening up. 

“Let’s go over the map more once we bypass the locked door.” He said frankly. In truth, they weren’t exactly safe discussing this out in the open. He had avoided that dangerous shadow considering everyone else’s power level, meaning the thing was still lurking around. They all gave their own separate nods in agreement. Before they could continue on their way, medal in hand, a knight suddenly appeared from the door.

“Hey, what’re you doing in here?!” The voice rattled before it began shifting into its true form. Akira was the first to react. He pocketed the medal and map before pulling out his knife. The shadow contorted and split into three Bicorns; a sight not unfamiliar in the least to the thieves. Akira was already barreling forward with an attack when he heard Ryuji shouting something.

“The hell’s up with that one?!”

Akira’s knife sunk into purple and black flesh. It looked odd, as if it were mingling and melding along the shadow’s skin. Did shadows have skin? Akira didn’t have time to really process it.

“Joker! Fall back!” Morgana warned. The edge in his voice wasn’t ignored by Akira. He quickly pulled out his knife, jumping back towards the rest of the thieves. He now had a good idea of what he had stabbed; it definitely was a shadow, but something was definitely wrong about it. Its body gave off an odd aura with trails of purple and black smoke pluming off the creature. It bent forward for a moment before its body began expanding unnaturally. Before long it popped like a balloon, sending a sharp blast throughout the small library. The four Persona-users flinched, each bringing their arms up to cover their faces.

When the wind cleared, the Bicorns were gone. They were no doubt caught in the explosion their fellow shadow had created. Akira blinked, noticing something shiny on the floor where the creatures had once been. He leaned down, picking it up only to find it was just a Life Stone.  _ Great _ .

“Phew, that was too close…” Morgana sighed before glaring sharply at Akira, “Hey, don’t just rush in like that! You could’ve been seriously injured!”

“What was that thing?” Ann interrupted, looking between the two of them at Morgana. The not cat continued giving Akira the stink eye before he folded his arms across his chest. Akira only shrugged his shoulders.

“A Disaster shadow. They’re unpredictable compared to the other shadows here. They act irrationally and explode when they’re defeated, but they do leave behind items and hurt their teammates. They’re not shadows to be taken lightly.” Morgana let his tail swish behind him.

“Oh, so that’s why it was all weird lookin’.” Ryuji added, letting his thumbs rest in his pockets. Akira frowned to himself. Another thing to tack onto this cumbersome list of changes. He was really going to need one of those conspiracy theory cork boards at this rate. Why add all these pointless changes anyway? Why did this world need them? He didn’t really understand how the Disaster shadows even came into being… but he supposed it wasn’t like the Metaverse itself had a reason for its existence.

“We should keep moving. I’ll be more careful.” Akira said, giving a tilt of his head towards Morgana. The not cat was still frowning, but he conceded with a nod. The rest of them gathered themselves up and made their way towards the door that had locked them out before. Akira briefly lingered inside the library door, glancing back towards the open room behind the bookcases once again.

If Kamoshida could be considered a monster for the deeds he had done, what did that make him? Wasn’t he some sort of monster with his freakish strength? He looked down at his knife before flipping it in his palm. Still, this power was to carve a path to their true happiness. He looked up. They still were only halfway through the castle currently. It was a long trek to Kamoshida’s treasure, but they had no other choice but to continue going on.

Akira sighed once, before he followed after his teammates.


End file.
